EU has triggered article 16 over controls on vaccine exports

[soundofsilence1]

Breaking news on sky
news.sky.com/story/covid-19-eu-introduces-controls-on-vaccine-exports-to-northern-ireland-12202656

@marshmallowfluffy

The EU brought up the Irish border during Brexit negotiations. They know. I think that member states will be horrified that they'd do something like this without consulting the affected member state.

The EU are massive CF. Did everyone know that they are paying half of the price for each AZ vaccine that South Africa is being charged?

www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n281

I saw that re South Africa and started a thread on it. To be fair, the UK is likely paying the same as the EU or near enough. I don't know why the SA price is double but I do know SA AZ supplies are coming from India. I'll read the article.

suzy this is from a german paper?

Since then, frustration and anger has been growing across the EU. Europe, one of the most affluent regions in the world, is proving to be unable to quickly protect its citizens from a deadly disease, while other countries are showing how it is done.

And the boss is nowhere to be found.

www.spiegel.de/international/europe/europe-s-vaccine-disaster-commission-president-ursula-von-der-leyen-seeking-to-duck-responsibility-a-1197547d-6219-4438-9d69-b76e64701802

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is trying to get out of the firing line as anger grows over the EU's botched vaccine rollout. It's not the first time in her career that she has sought to evade responsibility.

hese days, though, von der Leyen is noticeably quieter – a silence that could have to do with the fact that the erstwhile "success story" might ultimately turn out to be the greatest disaster of her entire political career.

Europe is facing a vaccine disaster. Whereas countries like Israel, Britain and the United States. are quickly moving ahead with vaccinations, the EU is reeling from a string of setbacks. First, U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech informed Brussels that it would be delivering far less vaccine than planned in the coming weeks. Then, the company AstraZeneca said it would only be delivering 31 million doses of its vaccine by the end of March instead of the 80 million Europe had been expecting.

Since then, frustration and anger has been growing across the EU. Europe, one of the most affluent regions in the world, is proving to be unable to quickly protect its citizens from a deadly disease, while other countries are showing how it is done.

And the boss is nowhere to be found.

What a nasty little group of people there is on here. Full EU hatred on show.
Oh, we're back to being rude about Leavers.
FYI, I don't hate the residents of the EU, but I have for a long time been worried about the autocratic and undemocratic nature of many of the EUs processes.

As, for example, so amply demonstrated here.

Sky News reporting that the EU is going to withdraw their move, to be announced imminently. They're saying they were so focussed on vaccines that they didn't 'foresee the implictions'.

Yeah, because it's not like the Irish border hasn't been the subject of highly sensitive negotiations for over 4 years or anything.

I'll say one thing for this, it's providing much needed entertainment at a very boring time.

@lljkk

If Brexit had never happened & this situation was an emergency resource conflict with say... USA... the same people condemning EU now would be thumbing their noses to say "EU has every right to do this!!" to protect EU vaccine supplies.

I have too much intolerance to hypocrisy, I guess.

Nah I think the UKippers would be using this as reason for a referendum.

@Dongdingdong - what were the good reasons to leave then? We would be in exactly the same position if we hadn’t left vis a vis vaccines as we were at liberty to procure our own which we could have done. In fact we would have likely been better off as there would be more cooperation.

Also we wouldn’t be facing economic disaster at this already horrendous time.

Sky News are now reporting that the Commission are now backing down and withdrawing A16, sharpish.

They didn’t understand the enormity of the potential implications of what they were doing, apparently....

Quite unbelievable.

@MGMidget not necessarily. Even within the EU we'd have been free to make our own vaccine purchase agreements.

Hmm backtracking . Really.

you just wait until some of our trials on other potential drugs are finished.They will be begging us for supply.

Avid Remainer. And dual Irish citizen . What a pathetic fuck up that needs a massive apology quickly to stop it festering in Ireland anymore than it already will.

EU: "Um...the dog ate my homework"

Well, ok, good news that art16 invocation has been retracted--shit hitting the fan avoided, for now.

Backing down.

The Irish wielded enough power to make Germany back down.

Fancy that.

It’s very disappointing stance the EU has taken. The EU have were slow in ordering they have messed up

There will be a lot of issues within the EU from Covid countries that were struggling financially will Germany and to a lesser extent France want to prompt them up again

I never wanted to leave I’ve never been a staunch remainer and I am not shocked by this move

It's a shame if this thread becomes a leavers/remainders argument.

I voted to remain in the EU but I'm truly shocked by this. Utterly despicable behaviour by the EU.

Still outrageous von fee Lyon should be on the next flight over to London to give a full account

*der

What a nasty little group of people there is on here. Full EU hatred on show.

^^ And? Whats nasty about being wary of a shady political organization that's riddled with corruption - has shady figures moving in it - its not transparent, cant protect people living in the Eu time and time and time again....and has now triggered a horrific political lever and had no understanding of what it meant?

I adore Europe, I want to return, I love its diversity and the unique culture of all the countries...the EU commissions? The political ideology - terrifies me...

Is it kind of like the time I accidentally switched on the TV when I fell asleep on the couch, turned over and inadvertently triggered the remote control?

As someone who has worked with EU regulations for the last 15 years all I can say is that this is so typically European (& hypocritical..). Anyone who has worked in a regulatory or legislative environment will know this is just who the EU are / how they always behave. Doing business of any sort is impossibly difficult.

I grew up in Europe and love it, love the people, but loathe the regulation / attitude of regulators/bureaucrats..

Lol at triggering art 15 being a wee mistake though. Someone’s getting fired.

At least it’s sorted.

@PicsInRed

EU: "Um...the dog ate my homework"

Glad they are backing down, and if it was an 'oversight', whoever is making the decisions is incompetent.

One possible plus is that most Democrat US Presidents in modern times have taken an interest and concern in what's going on with Ireland. Biden wouldn't step in for UK v Germany, but if Ireland starts to be badly impacted I would expect him to involve himself.