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

errrrrr these awful protectionist manoeuvres are happening because the EU has a neighbour that has left and are now visibly seen to be doing better.

Well, on the single undeniably very important issue of getting the vaccines, yes, there are more than a few in the EU looking on in awe.

As to other the metrics I don't think there's quite as much of a feeling of the UK "doing better".

Fundamentally everybody needs these vaccines out there and really needs them to work, regardless of which country they live in.

Thankfully there has been the U turn on the utterly tin eared Article 16 decision and hopefully now cooler heads will prevail, for all our sakes.

They are basically arguing that they have as much right to thr vaccines produced as we do. So any production should be distributed equally without the Uk contract being given precedence for supply, which it currently is

UK contract is being fulfilled according to the contract and without reference to others. EU could not receive any vaccine until yesterday (EMA approval) so what happened on unrelated contracts before theirs came into action as it were, isn't 'precedence' - it's the results of these being different, unlinked contracts on different, unlinked timetables

The "hate" of the EU in this thread reads to me more like dismay as a direct result of choices and public statements and, frankly, fuck ups by EU in the last 48 hours or so.

Just like This thread has people gloating over the opportunity to express their long-standing hate of EU

If it was the other way round and the EU had moved quickly to get vaccines and UK had dragged its feet, there would be pages and pages of gloating from remainers.

@lljkk

Some public People in UK would be gloating happy if UK were still part of an EU playing tigress to protect EU vaccine supplies against someone else's interest (like against Russia or USA or China). There would be all sorts of moral contortions to defend & justify this stance.

Just like This thread has people gloating over the opportunity to express their long-standing hate of EU. Mega-projection, opportunism to promote long-standing world views, revive the Brexit debate (zzzzz). I guess some people really miss that strife.

I take it you’re an EU citizen or have close connections to the EU? I think the fact that your empathy lies with the EU in this instance illustrates this.

It seems like your opinion is based on emotions rather than looking at it objectively. There are plenty of people on here who were remainers that can see that the EU is wrong in this particular issue.

The very fact they have backtracked during the night, shows their actions were completely unreasonable. Say what you want but the reality and fact is that they didn’t order when they should have so they don’t have a leg to stand on!!!

Merkel, Macron et al have realised that we have bought enough vaccine to vaccinate our own population 2-3 times over, mostly manufactured in the U.K. So, later in the year we will have spare vaccines. I suspect that they want some of this and know that, if they keep kicking us, we have many other options.

And so Stella Kyriades will, after a polite pause, be demoted several levels and a competent German or French technocrat will take her place.

Ultimately Merkel is a scientist and a patriot and will have very limited patience with the commission (if any) while her citizens die unnecessarily.

The EU’s health commissioner, Stella Kyriakides,
Will be demoted/replaced soon. As an EU embarrassment.

She'll be replaced by someone equally embarrassing. But the EU will hope we'll all forget what she said.

We won't!

"If it was the other way round and the EU had moved quickly to get vaccines and UK had dragged its feet, there would be pages and pages of gloating from remainers."

I know it spoils your narrative but " Remainers " like me were on here pretty quickly slagging the EU off for this shit show.
Glad they reversed it pretty quickly and didn't need Marcus Rashford telling them how much they'd fucked up before the U-Turn.

How The EU can't see what tits they are making of themselves, is shocking/questionable.

Marcus Rashford?

It'll be interesting to see how von der Leyen fares. After all, she has form for screwing up.

I'd rather our spares were given to the Republic of Ireland first as that directly affects our herd immunity and then to developing countries rather than mainland Europe.

From another shocked and appalled Remainer

The EU can see what tits they made of themselves. But, unlike Johnson normally does, they immediately reversed rather than spluttering, repeating their cock up and waiting until a footballer told them they were wrong.

Still looks like political posturing to me, even more so following the backtrack.

I hope/expect once we have our 100 million doses our factories can go like the clappers to help the EU (and any other country for that matter) get the supplies they need ASAP. Presumably we could get to the point that we have more of the stuff than we can quickly put into arms and therefore they’d be welcome to the excess too.
But as a committed remainer I say the EU are bang out of order

Funnily enough my dh is on the other side. He thinks we should give up some of our current supply to the Eu for the common good.

@DreamyDreamer333

Yes all the remainers who were crying about their Italian retirement plans and FOM have gone very quiet haven't they.

I'm a remainer. I'm not quiet. I would have liked to remain for FOM, easier frictionless trade etc. It doesn't mean that I think the EU is some kind of perfect utopia though. Far from it.

The EU has hugely fucked up here. Dreadful behaviour, and a massive own goal.

I suppose if you are still in a 1950s Brexit cult you assume that people who disagree with you are also in a cult and can't criticise the EU for this fuck up.
Bad news, kids - not seen a single Remain voice on here standing up for the EU on this.

I voted remain and I would still but last night's stunt was shocking and shameful on part of the EU.

@x2boys

Interesting there are no threads about this in AIBU.....

I know - I think it means that the penny has finally dropped about how unwelcome coronavirus threads there, and that MNHQ will move them.

There are of course several correctly in the topic

Bellini,

But a fair amount of ‘whataboutery’ from you...

Vaccines and free school meals have zero connection, except that you want to say ‘whatever fuck up the EU made, we are worse...’

I have only done "what about " post this morning. Last night I was on here slagging off the EU for this.

not seen a single Remain voice on here standing up for the EU on this

Do you mean on this thread or MN in general? Because I went and had a read of a long-standing pro EU thread on MN and there was support for the EU, in fact one poster suggested EU citizens don’t care about U.K. people getting the vaccine and would happy steal vaccines meant for old people in the U.K. So if you want to talk about cults maybe recognise that there are absolutely ‘cults’ who think the EU cannot do wrong as well.

I suppose if you are still in a 1950s Brexit cult you assume that people who disagree with you are also in a cult and can't criticise the EU for this fuck up
Bad news, kids - not seen a single Remain voice on here standing up for the EU on this

whilst I agree partly with your first paragraph.
I disagree with the second. there have been some posters all over these threads defending the EU actions.

But yes the majority of remainers who have commented have been very open minded and diplomatic.

"a long-standing pro EU thread on MN and there was support for the EU,"
This cockup only happened yesterday.

Eh have changed their mind about their reversal...

EU vaccine export row: Bloc backtracks on controls for NI www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55865539

The EU had done the wrong thing on this and they're rowing back.

This 'bullying' stuff is crap though. Bullying is something that happens between individuals. What is happening here is that a trading bloc is exercising its powers. Because it's more powerful than the UK alone. That's why we should be part of the EU. We now have no say over what it does but are still massively affected by what it does. Voting to leave didn't make the EU just disappear.