Great Britain and the European Union: The tone of the vaccine dispute is sharpening

In the vaccine dispute, the EU envoy has been summoned to the British Foreign Office. The reason is the statement made by Michael, the chairman of the European Council, which is said to have banned the export of British vaccine. Head of Department Rob denied the allegations.

In the controversy over the vaccines with Brussels, Great Britain summoned the EU representative in London to oppose the statements of Council President Charles Michael. The occasion was Michaels’ newsletter, which said: “The United Kingdom and the United States have imposed a total ban on the export of vaccines or vaccine components into their territory.”

Notes on export ban “completely wrong”

In a letter to Michael, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Robb responded angrily to these statements. The State Department quoted Rob as saying, “The British government has not banned the export of a Govt-19 vaccine or vaccine components. “Any reference to the UK export ban or any restrictions on vaccines is completely false.”

The Foreign Ministry in London said the matter had been “further discussed” with Brussels’ appointed representative, as the allegations had been repeated at various levels of the EU.

Weber: Stop “teaching the EU”

Meanwhile, Manfred Weber, leader of the Christian Democrats in the European Parliament, attacked British Foreign Secretary Rob. CSU Vice Weber wrote on Twitter that Rob should stop teaching the EU. Instead, he should publish how many vaccines Britain has exported to Europe and other regions. In the last few months, eight million vaccines from BioTech / Pfizer have gone to Great Britain. “How many vaccines have you sent to Europe?”

Problems in delivery in the EU

The EU has come under increasing pressure due to its sluggish vaccine campaign, with British-Swedish manufacturer AstraZeneca also being blamed for failing to meet promised supply levels. AstraZeneca acknowledged production problems in the EU, but defended itself against accusations leveled at Great Britain and other non-EU countries on deliberately unpredictable levels.