Bloomberg: Officials in Brussels are quick to realize that Ursula von der Leyen had made a big mistake with vaccines

The president of the European Commission (EC) was one of those who insisted during the Brexit talks that Irish border controls could jeopardize the island’s peaceful settlement. Less than a month after the entry into force of the trade agreement with the United Kingdom, the EU has now become the one that threatens to impose restrictions and unilaterally apply the articles of its agreement with the United Kingdom in case of emergency.

Following a wave of outrage, officials who diligently participated in the difficult negotiations on these treaties and who were not consulted on Mr von er Leyen’s decision felt that the moral authority of the EU was being undermined. The proposals were quickly met with unanimous opposition from Dublin and London, as well as from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the pharmaceutical industry.

The events that led to the decision to control the export of COVID-19 vaccines produced in Europe show that Von der Leyen’s team is struggling to cope with enormous pressure to adjust the stalled vaccination program. After being criticized at the beginning of the week for being too slow, they may have only made the situation worse by taking action too quickly.

In addition to a faltering vaccine program that could cost thousands of lives and billions in extraordinary production capacity, von der Leyen and his team have done real damage to the image of the EU and its role as advocates for open markets. and the rule of law. .

The question of competition

Several officials lamented that his predecessor, Jean-Claude Juncker, had never allowed the situation to get so out of control, and questioned whether Ms Von de Leyen would lose some of her advisers to manage the ship. It has been speculated that European Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides could become a scapegoat.

Even U. Von der Leyen’s closest circle admits that mistakes have been made. The lack of foresight is also evidenced by the fact that Dublin officials learned about the plan through social media. Some fear the noise could have caused irreparable damage to complex deals aimed at preventing the reestablishment of the “hard” border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, hitting critics of the Brexit Treaty and the EU.

According to a Brussels official, this is what happens when political decisions are made too quickly.

According to U. von der Leyen’s spokesman, Eric Mamer, this is the institutional reality: all decisions go through the office of the president and the College of Commissioners. No decision is made without the consensus of the university, he added.

As Mr von der Leyen and his team did their best to manage the crisis, their thinking was shaped by the ongoing conflict with AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical company in the United Kingdom (UK), to which Europe had paid 336 million euros under a contract. August. (USD 408 million) to allow you to expand production more quickly.

The Bloomberg news agency spoke with EU officials and representatives of national governments, most of whom expressed frustration, anger and regret at the Commission’s handling of the situation. But all were convinced that Astra CEO Pascal Soriot had acted unfairly with them, with some even hinting that AstraZeneca had breached its contract with the block.

The controversy, which began with efforts to ensure transparency and gather evidence against the company, quickly turned into a chaotic disaster, which some fear will escalate into a trade conflict amid a pandemic.

“Usurpation of vaccines”

AstraZeneca triggered the crisis just over a week ago when it announced a 60% cut in the vaccine supply planned for the European Union. up to 31 million doses in the event of a production failure at a plant in Belgium. At the same time, the delivery of vaccines in the UK was more or less in line with expectations and helped the British vaccination program to gain an advantage in the race for vaccine distribution.

Recent data shows that the EU injected 2.6 doses per 100 people, compared to 12.5 and 8.8 doses in the UK and the US, respectively. Reports of delays in vaccine delivery have sown fear and resentment across the continent.

“Vaccine diplomacy has turned into a usurpation of vaccines,” said Croatian Prime Minister Andrei Plenkovic.

In fact, AstraZeneca has used its EU supply chain to fulfill the UK contract. The UK Vaccine Task Force said in December that some of the primary parties would come to the UK from Germany and the Netherlands, while Peter Liese MEP, a spokesman for the German Christian Democrats, said a vaccine traveling to the The UK had been in Germany until recently. .

The European Union is determined to follow these movements more closely.

According to an email from the diplomatic meeting Bloomberg met with, the Commission’s health services informed the ambassadors of member states last week that millions of vaccines had been shipped from the EU to various countries in recent months, including the UK, China, Israel and Canada.

Some EU officials suspect that AstraZeneca is responsible for some of these shipments and that it should have kept the doses for European customers. But they have no evidence of this because the manufacturer does not break down the data.

Export controls

Gathering such information was the goal that was set last Monday when the Commission’s commercial service began drawing up plans to establish a system that would force companies to simply label their vaccine exports. In addition, companies would be required to provide data on exports since December, in order to clarify how many doses of AstraZeneca vaccine it has already exported.

“We do not plan to impose bans or restrictions on exports,” EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters on Tuesday. “It is a question of transparency.”

At that moment, the head of AstraZeneca decided to go on the offensive, granting an interview to European newspapers, including La República de Italia. He said deliveries were delayed in part because the EU signed a contract with the company later than the UK and dismissed the speculation allegations.

“I am European, I care about Europe,” he said. – That is why we want to treat Europe the best we can. After all, we do all of this for non-profit, remember? “

On Tuesday night, the pressure for a tougher approach began to intensify, first in Germany and then in France.

Tensions between the two parties reached such a level on Wednesday night that doubts have already begun to be made as to whether the telephone conversation scheduled for that night will take place.

Soriot’s interviews enraged officials and member states. Ambassadors were told at a press conference that day that the Astra CEO’s allegations were shocking and inconsistent with treaty obligations, according to a diplomatic note that Bloomberg had read.

Later, during a press conference, Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides rejected the drugmaker’s arguments “on a first-come, first-served basis.” “It can work in neighboring butcher shops, but not in contracts,” he said.

At the time, Mr von der Leyen decided that the Commission should show its muscles, and the focus shifted to a stricter regime that would force companies that sign a contract for the supply of vaccines in the EU not only to report but also to obtain permission before exporting doses outside the block.

A series of frustrating mistakes

However, EU commissioners, who often make decisions collectively, are clearly divided on whether such a plan is worth adopting. Finally, Ms Von der Leyen and her cabinet made the decision to pursue a stricter strategy.

And then the strangers attacked to prepare a plan before the deadline set for them. The urgency and environmental pressure led to a whole chain of serious errors.

The journalists were invited to a special press conference on Thursday, even before the final proposal was made, which the Commission almost never does.

On Friday morning, the EU announced its contract with AstraZeneca, with confidential parts discreetly edited. Mr. Domobrovki and Mr. Kyriakides were asked to introduce the new provisions before some of their elements, including the terms of the decision, were duly approved. Although the substantive parts relating to Northern Ireland were subsequently completed, all relevant senior officials were present and familiar with the plan before it was made public. Mr. von der Leyen’s cabinet was responsible for the final approval.

Michel Barnier, who led the Brexit talks, was not involved in the decision, a source familiar with the situation said. Another source said that other members of the Brexit task force had only been convened at the end of the process and were asked how to inform the UK about a measure that had already been agreed.

When news of the mechanism finally reached the internet, both Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson were angered by the decision to impose temporary controls on vaccine exports between the EU and northern Aria and expressed serious concerns.

Mr. von der Leyen was quick to speak to Mr. Martin and Mr. Johnson by phone in an attempt to clarify the matter.

Eventually, the EU removed the order from its website and was forced to reverse the decision to suspend part of the trade deal with the UK after Brexit until midnight.

But the whole story was a delicious bite to eat for hard Brexiters in the UK. Tom Tugendhat, a moderate MP from the Johnson Conservative Party, said the events had exposed the EU’s approach and demonstrated how little benevolence there was.

Although the EU executive did not follow up on the controversial article, it did not rule out the threat at all, warning in its additional statement that it would consider “all instruments” in case of non-compliance with the vaccine export ban.

The updated version of the plan, released on Saturday morning, no longer contained parts for Northern Ireland, but still hints at suspicions that AstraZeneca may have used the Irish border as a secret gateway to transport COVID-19 vaccines from the EU to the UK. . .

Manufacturers will be required to provide information on all doses of vaccines distributed as of December 1, including those shipped to Northern Ireland.

And Ursula von der Leyen now, after one of the most difficult episodes of her government, remains to collect fragments.

Lucinda Creighton, a former minister for European Affairs in Dublin, gave a very brief assessment of what happened last week. “Disaster,” he wrote on Twitter.