EU has triggered article 16 over controls on vaccine exports

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

@Suzeyshoes

Urgh. Urgh. Urgh. What a nasty little group of people there is on here. Full EU hatred on show. Makes me sick to be British.

The EU can do whatever it wants. The vaccines are being produced on their turf and they are owed them. They signed a contract with AZ. Nowhere did it stipulate that it was ‘only if it hadn’t been taken first by somebody else.’ There was no mention of ‘first come first served.’ No priority list. Ever.

The uk didn’t mind using the EU production infrastructure to get its first supplies. And they only approved it first because they skipped over several steps of the approval process. Nice, hun. DH is a pretty senior pharma expert and says the British media, right wing and pro brexit as it is, is presenting the situation at its most horrifically unbalanced and anti EU. Of course, somebody has to bolster Boris after he’s managed to kill off 100,000 people. The reality is v different.

1. No the EU cannot “do whatever it wants”, it still needs to abide by the contracts that it made - and cannot expect its contract to be honoured by way of breaking Az contacts with other countries.
2. Whilst we were “using EU infrastructure” the EU hadn’t even approved the vaccines, so why should they hold onto stock for countries that haven’t authorised it, whilst other countries that have approved it have contracted orders to be filled? Authorisation isn’t a forgone conclusion.
3. I’m not sure what part of your DH being a “senior pharma expert” means that you are an authority to speak on his behalf r.e. politics and media but what you are saying is nothing new. But the EU have at best made a serious error here, at worst they have essentially declared a trade war. If the situation were amicable with Britain, why have they decided to inflame a tense political situation r.e. the border rather than continue their dispute with vaccine companies through the correct legal channels? Presumably because they realise they haven’t a leg to stand on.
4. I am but a lowly regular “pharma expert” and find it outrageous that anyone would consider the MHRA who are at the absolute forefront of medicine regulation to have cut corners. They obviously haven’t made a bad decision here, as every vaccine we have approved has subsequently been authorised by every other nation that had purchased them.

Wind your neck in.

It’s like people are just set to be angry at whatever is set by their media.

Oh, I didn’t realise it was the media who’d invoked Article 16. Silly me!

The international nature of fuckwittery is charming

Yes, EU incompetence and bureaucracy, so glad we're out of it

They have played dirty tactics for the past 4 years. They have now really shown their cards.
One comment on here said ‘but it’s happened because of brexit’. So are you saying ‘we should have stayed so we don’t get bullied even further’ ?
Every ‘punishment’ they give to the uk is a reason more to support that brexit that was a good thing. If you can’t leave a relationship in good terms then it wasn’t a viable relationship. We shouldn’t have felt ‘bullied’ to stay in. That was what they and remainders tried to do the last 4 years.
If we hadn’t have had brexit - We wouldn’t have vaccinated 7/8 million so far.

No, @DreamyDreamer333 , it just shows how fucking delicate this situation is and how easily it is for lazy thinking idiots to cock it up

Yep, as illustrated beautifully by the EU.

@DasPepe

Except there have been a few people on here who are currently studying law or have already studied it. You have to learn about the EU, the institutional framework, the sources of law etc.. Bloody dull but also makes you realise what a massive mess it is.

It makes you long to reread Donoghue V Stevenson for the millionth time.

it just shows how fucking delicate this situation is and how easily it is for lazy thinking idiots to cock it up

Indeed. Thank goodness the EU have seen sense and backtracked.

well personally i think they are totally right to have done this. i really dont see why people think this is a problem. covid is ultimately a security emergency and emergency measures are imposed all the time.

no idea why AZ thought they could get away with it. I mean fun to watch a pharmaceutical company take on the EU. Very pleased the EU are playing hardball. This isn't anti-British - this is anti-large corporations and personally am really behind them.

Part of the EU’s problem is the EMA’s delay in approving the vaccine. Brexit has hit the EMA hard, due to needing to relocate to a new country at fairly short notice and losing a large proportion of their staff, plus the input of UK experts and assessment teams. The EC has panicked and jumped too hard and too soon and then retracted. Not an excuse for the EC’s action but a reason. All this shows is that we are stronger together. The only real losers in this at the moment are poorer countries who have no vaccine, but the resultant development of new strains in those countries will ultimately impact on all countries, rich and poor.

Have seen that they are backtracking which I actually think is a shame.

@pinktv

well personally i think they are totally right to have done this. i really dont see why people think this is a problem. covid is ultimately a security emergency and emergency measures are imposed all the time.

no idea why AZ thought they could get away with it. I mean fun to watch a pharmaceutical company take on the EU. Very pleased the EU are playing hardball. This isn't anti-British - this is anti-large corporations and personally am really behind them.

They are ‘totally right’ to have broken the Good Friday Agreement, which they have spent the last four years telling us not to do?

Pinktv you do know production issues occur? Az are a pharmaceutical company who are not making a profit on vaccine during the pandemic and longer term to poorer countries?

@Toilettraininghell

Absolutely shocking behaviour by the EU. I don't fully understand the vaccine issue with the EU and astrazeneca but this just seems complete overkill

'I don't really understand any of this but the EU are baaaad.'

Whatevs.

no idea why AZ thought they could get away with it. I mean fun to watch a pharmaceutical company take on the EU. Very pleased the EU are playing hardball. This isn't anti-British - this is anti-large corporations and personally am really behind them.

You’re anti the large corporation that is currently producing a not for profit vaccine to save thousands, if not millions of people’s lives? Right. On that spectacularly stupid note I’m off to bed.

EU are bureaucrats. They do what they do. Whatevs.

The EU have apparently reversed their decision.

whatevs - its the batteries I am concerned about.

Brexiteers on here shocked that people who supported remain aren't in an EU cult and are very angry with how the EU fucked up. It's almost as if people who voted Remain are capable of critical thinking 😂

@LetItGoGo - i know far too much about this subject. Yes, they are not making a profit - during the pandemic. However, that is largely because they did not provide most of the cash for it. Most of the R&D funding has come from the EU and other partners - not phparma..when it come sto pharma they are in fact recipients of state cash and not benevolent actors. There is also a narrow definition on what constitutes a pandemic where and how etc -eventually and if it is in their interest they will be able to make cash out of it. However, they are not exactly out of pocket at this stage as the R&D has already been paid by countries and they are now paying for the vaccines - so effectively paying pharma twice to enagage with covid vaccine development.

@Justthebeerlighttoguide

whatevs - its the batteries I am concerned about.

So are we like the biggest suppliers of batteries or something? To be fair to that poster, it’s bloody annoying when you don’t have batteries when you really need them - like the remote. I’ve devolved, I wouldn’t know how to switch the tv over without one.

If the EU does nothing else, it needs to appoint a new minister in charge of vaccines.

Whatever one's politics, EU citizens would be a lot safer, having someone competent, responsible for vaccine procurement and distribution. The sheer ineptitude until now has been breathtaking.

@Dongdingdong - I would like large corporations not to assume they are above contract law just because they are large enough.

it is also important to revisit the balance between state power and large corporations power when it comes to public health. Without that the lack of new antibiotics, stage 2 cancer drugs etc will continue to be a major health issue for all of us and probably kill far more people than covid.

The current drug productions system has broken down when it comes to public health provision. It needs revision asap - not only for the West but also the 3rd world. The covid pandemic is as good a time as any to start making these revisions going forth

[quote CaptainMarvelDanvers]@DasPepe

Except there have been a few people on here who are currently studying law or have already studied it. You have to learn about the EU, the institutional framework, the sources of law etc.. Bloody dull but also makes you realise what a massive mess it is.

It makes you long to reread Donoghue V Stevenson for the millionth time.[/quote]
Ahh the bloody worm in the bottle. Tort law. Those were the days.

So- the EU is acting to do what it can to keep CV vaccines within the EU, to be administered to EU citizens- is that what I'm reading?