EU mocked over threat to impose Europe-wide Covid vaccine ban ‘Just sour grapes’
Nadhim Zahawi: Countries must ‘work together’ on vaccine rollout
Sky News host Niall Paterson ridiculed the European Union for threatening to impose the coronavirus vaccine blockade during an interview with Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi on Tuesday morning. The European Union threatened to impose strict controls on the exporting of vaccines made in the bloc. Mr Paterson questioned Brussel’s motives and asked whether the move was purely motivated by the fact the UK “simply signed a better deal.”
Discussing the new vaccine export controls he asked Mr Zahawi: “Has the European Union threatened to block the movement of vaccines produced on the continent to the United Kingdom?”
In response, the Vaccine Minister said he was confident that both AstraZeneca UK and Pfizer would deliver the doses necessary for the Government to meet the target to offer doses to the whole of UK’s adult population by the autumn.
Asked if there had been an “explicit threat” that the Pfizer vaccine might be “held up” at the EU border, Mr Zahawi replied: “I am sure they will deliver for the UK and the European Union and for the rest of the World.”
“I am confident we will meet our target and continue to vaccinate the whole of the adult population by the autumn.”
JUST IN: EU threatens to cut-off vaccine supplies to Britain as UK races ahead with Covid jabs
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“Is this perhaps a bit of sour grapes from the European Union,” queried Mr Paterson.
“Perhaps on the basis that we simply signed a better deal?”
Mr Zahawi said: “The European Union has to make decisions they why it makes decisions, we will always support them they are our friends, our allies, our trading partners
“I think it would be very unwise for me to engage in their negotiations or their deliberations on their vaccine policy.
“I think it is much wiser for me just to focus on delivery for the United Kingdom,” he added.
On Monday, European health commissioner Stella Kyriakides announced new controls on firms wanting export vaccine doses outside after the bloc.
Vaccine makers will have to provide “early notification” to the European Commission every time they plan to sell abroad.
She said: “In the future, all companies producing vaccines against COVID-19 in the EU will have to provide early notification whenever they want to export vaccines.”
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And if companies fail to comply, she added: “The European Union will take any action required to protect its citizens and rights.”
Her move came as Germany demanded pharmaceutical firms secure approval from eurocrats for any shipments leaving the bloc.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said: “We, as the EU, must be able to know whether and what vaccines are being exported from the EU.
“Only that way can we understand whether our EU contracts with the producers are being served fairly. An obligation to get approval for vaccine exports on the EU level makes sense.”
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