Democratic nations do not go to war with each other. This is because their leaders have few political incentives to do so. Trade wars are another matter.
The EU’s threat to block the export of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to Britain from a factory in the Netherlands is the latest example of the fraying of the rules-based global order — and relations between the bloc and its only former member.
The EU’s position is all the stranger given that many member states are sitting on vaccine stockpiles. Indeed last week, the Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides urged governments to accelerate deployment, noting correctly that “every dose counts”.
The EU’s pause over fears of a link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots is only the latest in a string of bumps. On the day that the long-awaited US AstraZeneca trial confirms the vaccine to be safe and highly effective, the bloc’s behaviour — pooh-poohing the vaccine but threatening to block exports — recalls the old Woody Allen complaint about the food being terrible, and such small portions.
It is unclear how much an export ban from the Dutch plant would affect the UK’s vaccine roll-out and the roadmap for reopening, given that most vaccines imported to Britain from the EU are Pfizer.
Indeed, our vaccine roll-out continues to accelerate for the moment — more than 844,000 first or second doses were administered on Saturday, meaning that more than one per cent of the entire population were jabbed in a single day. Meanwhile, the EU continues to lag far behind.
Delays to both the UK and the EU’s vaccine roll-outs also raise questions about the chances of Brits going on foreign holidays this summer and highlights the importance of vaccine passports to save our summer.
The Government must accelerate its plans, as well as set reasonable expectations so people can plan their well-deserved breaks.
