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A threatening gesture, a sign of indifference, a symbolic attack: however you interpret what the EU Commission decided on Wednesday a week ago, it was certainly not a friendly gesture.
Until now, Switzerland has enjoyed an exemption from the so-called export license requirement when dealing with EU members. With this privileged access, so far you have also been able to obtain Covid-19 vaccines from EU countries without authorization.
Switzerland was removed from the list
The new export rules have been in effect since Wednesday: the exemptions were abolished without further ado in 17 countries, including Switzerland.
Before a vaccine leaves the EU bloc, Brussels wants to be informed in the future. In two cases it is uncomfortable: if a state buys vaccines but does not export them itself, the European Union can block the substance. In addition, exports to countries with a significantly higher vaccination rate than the EU will be prohibited.
The background for this is an exchange of blows between the EU and Britain over trade policy, which the British press has long called the ‘vaccine war’. Because manufacturer Astrazeneca generously delivered to Britain but was stingy with deliveries to the EU, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was already threatening to ban exports.
Penalties for successful vaccination?
Switzerland has now become a victim of this dispute. A collateral damage that the EU apparently accepts.
“The faster we vaccinate in Switzerland, that is, the better we work, the greater the risk of being sanctioned by the EU with delivery restrictions, that’s a paradox!”, Complains Andreas Faller (54), former deputy director of the BAG , now a lawyer and consultant in the healthcare sector.
But how does Switzerland, after all, one of the world’s largest producers of Covid 19 vaccines, react to the EU’s power play?
So far, it has been suspiciously quiet in Bern. However, as SonntagsBlick discovered, the EU ambassador clashed behind the scenes. Two days after the “adapted EU measure”, Secretary of State Livia Leu received the EU ambassador, Petros Mavromichalis, “for a meeting”, as confirmed by the State Secretariat for the Economy (Seco). “Switzerland requires that it be exempted from the EU export license requirement and that trade in Covid-19 vaccines and active ingredients not be restricted.”
Ambassador Mavromichalis was apparently trying to smooth things over. “They assured us that the measure would not be directed against Switzerland,” says the federal administration.
Dry is combative
They are in contact with the European Commission: “If necessary, Switzerland intervenes directly with the EU member states to make sure that there are no delays in supply chains in Switzerland,” says La Seco in a militant tone.
Health expert Faller, for his part, sees Switzerland’s security of supply at risk and wants to go one step further: “Switzerland should now examine retaliatory measures.”
La Seco said: Open and unhindered trade in vaccines is of great importance due to the tightly intertwined production chains with other countries. Efforts are underway to ensure the smooth import and export of these products: “Therefore, no new export license requirement is currently envisaged. But the federal authorities are examining all options for action in light of events. “
Published: 04/04/2021, 9.45 am
Last updated: 04.04.2021, 6 minutes ago
