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The prime minister suggested that a combination of Brexit anguish and the proximity of elections in the bloc’s two main members, France and Germany, is behind the “vaccine war” with the UK. The minister, who deals with his counterparts in the EU every week, said it was a personal opinion, not that of the government, but had been reflected in the conversations he has had with European politicians. The minister said: “I think a lot of this is driven by the election cycle in the EU.
We have crisp German elections in September.
“The [ruling party] The CDU has fared very poorly in state and local elections.
“[European Commission President] Ursula von der Leyen is primarily a political animal for the CDU, so there is widespread anger at her apparent failure to deal with the launch of the vaccine.
“There are a lot of political issues going on that are for domestic consumption.
“[French President Emmanuel] Macron is in a similar position where he will face the electorate in about a year for the presidency.
“There are all those political things that they don’t see us particularly, but I’m sure it’s part of the context for them to do what they are doing and say what they are saying.”
The EU agreed on Friday a proposal that would allow the European Commission to impose export bans.
This came despite opposition from countries like the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as criticism of “a vaccine war” from former European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, who argued that the EU needs to remember its special relationship. with the UK.
While an export ban has yet to be imposed, critics point out that the UK and AstraZeneca are under attack as a result of the Commission’s own failures to ensure proper deployment of the blockade across the block.
The machinations seem to have a negative impact on Europe.
On Friday, Canada demanded assurances from the EU that vaccine supplies would not be confiscated and it is understood that Novovax has yet to sign a contract with the EU due to concerns about AstraZeneca’s treatment.
But the UK chief minister said part of this is due to the EU’s still bitterness over Brexit behind the attacks.
The minister noted: “We in the UK underestimate the extent to which Brexit was a humiliation for the EU.
“It is something very difficult for them to handle. This is an organization that has always expanded and attracted more people and, for the first time, their second largest net contributor leaving the club is a problem. It’s pretty traumatic. “
The minister added: “I think they are alarmed by the speed of trade deals coming into the UK.
“One of the most revealing things that has been said was when Ursulka von der Leyen said that the UK was like a speedboat and the EU was like a supertanker. The extraordinary thing about it was that it was exactly the kind of metaphor the Prime Minister came up with. He summed up the frustration they feel. “
The minister also believed that Britain’s future trade will be much more focused on the rest of the world in the future.
“It has already changed. If you look at where our trade was in 2000, it probably would have been about 65 percent more than the EU trade. Today it is 55 percent. That was a trend when we were still in the EU, our total trade was falling.
“I am convinced that EU trade as a proportion of our world trade will fall as a percentage.”
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