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EU, UK in talks over provides after new export guidelines

EU, UK in talks over supplies after new export rules

Nursing staff is waiting for the vaccine against COVID 19 from AstraZeneca at the sports center of the University of CUS Turin on March 14, 2021 in Turin, Italy.

Stefano Guidi | Getty Images News | Getty Images

LONDON – Britain and the European Union try to settle a dispute over Covid-19 vaccine supplies shortly after EU officials announced stricter rules on the export of block-made shots.

The UK and the EU have been at odds for the past few weeks, with the latter complaining that London has not had the same level of reciprocity when it comes to distributing vaccines. The EU has said that since the end of January, more than 10 million cans produced in the EU have gone to the UK, but the UK has not exported any in return.

“We are all facing the same pandemic, and the third wave makes EU-UK cooperation even more important. We discussed what more we can do to promote a mutually beneficial relationship between the UK and the EU on Covid -19 to ensure. ” The UK government and the European Commission announced this in a joint statement on Wednesday.

“Given our interdependencies, we are working on specific steps that we can take in the short, medium and long term to create a win-win situation and expand the vaccine supply for all of our citizens,” said the UK and EU, adding in addition, these discussions would continue.

At the center of the recent dispute is the fact that the EU has received significantly fewer vaccines from AstraZeneca than expected, which puts further adoption at risk.

The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company was expected to distribute around 90 million doses in the first quarter, but that number has since been reduced to 30 million doses.

Our export authorization mechanism is not regulated in any particular country.

Valdis Dombrovskis

EU head of trade

AstraZeneca, which developed its Covid vaccine in partnership with Oxford University, said yield problems at EU facilities have hampered production. So far, only 17 million doses have been distributed to EU countries, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

EU leaders will hold a virtual summit on Thursday to discuss ways to improve supplies of Covid vaccines and improve the introduction of doses.

Export rules

EU countries suffered another setback after AstraZeneca cut its delivery target for the second quarter from 180 million to 70 million cans.

“I remind you that AstraZeneca has only fulfilled a small part of its agreed contractual obligations,” said Valdis Dombrovskis, EU chief of trade, at a press conference on Wednesday.

As a result, the European Commission decided to tighten the rules for the export of block-made vaccines. The EU executive said on Wednesday that in addition to checking that companies are performing their contracts, it also takes into account whether the country that receives vaccines made in the EU has a higher vaccination rate and better epidemiological situation overall, and whether the recipient nation has restrictions on shipping vaccines or raw materials to other locations.

For this reason, the UK could expect a lower number of imported Covid recordings in the future. It has a higher vaccination rate than the EU and, according to the EU Commission, does not share its vaccines with other nations.

“Our export licensing mechanism is not regulated in any particular country, but it is clear that we in the EU must also ensure that our own people are vaccinated,” said Dombrovskis.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday that blocking vaccines made “no sense”.

Over the weekend, Italian authorities discovered 29 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines at a processing facility near Rome. AstraZeneca said in a statement that these shots were waiting for quality control and that 13 million should be shipped to low and middle income countries and the remaining 16 million doses to EU countries, with 10 million expected in the last week of March be sent.

“It is wrong to call this inventory. The process of making vaccines is very complex and time-consuming. In particular, vaccine doses have to wait for quality control clearance after the vials are filled,” AstraZeneca said in a statement.

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Health

EU’s vaccine export controls might harm world vaccine provide

EU's vaccine export controls could damage global vaccine supply

The decision of the EU to carry out export controls for coronavirus vaccines is “extremely problematic” according to experts. They warned that if other countries followed suit, this could lead to a collapse in global supply.

“There is a real risk that the EU making this decision could set off a cascade in other countries to introduce export bans (vaccines),” said Suerie Moon, co-director of the Graduate Institute of the Global Health Center in Geneva, on Monday opposite CNBC.

“There is a real risk that the cross-border movement of vaccines will collapse, just as it did a year ago when countries including the EU blocked exports of food and even masks and other essential medical supplies. This is catastrophic internationally.”

In the worst case, she said, “The greatest risk is that this will be an example that many other countries will follow and that will lead to a collapse in the global vaccine supply.”

Export controls

The people lining up outside the Belgrade Fair to receive the China-made Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine became a vaccination center on January 25, 2021.

ANDREJ ISAKOVIC | AFP | Getty Images

While insisting that the measure is not an “export ban”, Member States can restrict exports of block-made coronavirus vaccines if they believe the vaccine maker has failed to respect existing contracts with the EU.

It contains exceptions for a large number of countries outside the EU but within Europe, such as Albania and Serbia, a number of countries in North Africa and one of the 92 low and middle income countries that fall under the COVAX initiative.

Moon said: “The EU has certainly put in some pressure valves to allow exports to certain countries in the world, but there are still many countries that rely heavily on EU production and are seriously injured.” . “

The bloc made the announcement amid heightened concerns and ugly public disputes with vaccine manufacturers over insufficient supplies to the bloc.

Vaccine maker Pfizer announced that it would temporarily cut production of its shot, developed with German biotechnology BioNTech, as it modernized manufacturing facilities in Belgium, while AstraZeneca dealt a blow to the EU by announcing it would deliver far fewer vaccine doses than that originally expected in the first quarter, citing problems in the Dutch and Belgian plants.

The delays put pressure on the European Commission, which has already been criticized for its lack of speed in ordering and approving vaccines and introducing vaccines.

The move to introduce export controls caused a stir, especially in the UK after a week of simmering tensions over shipments of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is also manufactured at two UK sites.

The EU had indicated that supplies were to be diverted from the UK plants to Europe, which sparked a dispute with the drug manufacturer and the UK government. It escalated to the point where the EU said it would override part of the Brexit deal to prevent EU-made vaccines from potentially entering the UK via Northern Ireland.

This decision was reversed shortly after a public outcry, including from the World Health Organization, warning of the dangers of “vaccine nationalism”. The EU assured the UK that it would receive vaccines from the block.

Pandora’s box

Simon J. Evenett, professor of international trade and economic development at the University of St. Gallen, said on Monday that the EU’s move was tantamount to opening the “Pandora’s box” and could have unforeseen consequences.

He said the restrictions could cause concern to foreign governments for a number of reasons, including the fact that the “standard for authorizing the export of Covid-19 vaccines is unclear” and that these decisions “can be arbitrary”. He also pointed out that it shouldn’t expire on March 31, 2021 as promised.

Evenett warned that the move “could spread down the supply chain for Covid-19 vaccines to include key ingredients needed to manufacture and distribute the vaccines,” and even to export restrictions on other essential goods such as food, energy and Energy could lead to other drugs.

CSL staff will be working in the laboratory on November 08, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia, where they will begin manufacturing the AstraZeneca-Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Darrian Traynor | Getty Images

Such scenarios “would exacerbate the damage being done to both the EU public health systems and its multinationals,” he said.

“A disruption in vaccine supply chains will slow vaccine rates in the EU and elsewhere, leading to unnecessary deaths and an even slower economic recovery. If the European Commission realizes that it is going to open Pandora’s box, it may find an elegant way to pull it back of the export control regime for the Covid-19 regime, “he said.

“This would allow the EU to regain its reputation as a defender of multilateralism and the rules-based global trading system. This morning that reputation is in tatters.”

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Business

EU locations export controls on coronavirus vaccines

EU places export controls on coronavirus vaccines

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, speaks to the media in Berlaymont, the seat of the EU Commission.

Thierry Monasse

LONDON – The European Union temporarily controlled the export of block-made coronavirus vaccines on Friday after the UK pharmaceutical company spat at AstraZeneca and other supply issues.

Pfizer recently received two massive blows stating that production should be temporarily reduced while production capacity at the Belgian facility is improved. Last week, AstraZeneca also said it would ship far fewer cans to the EU than originally expected this spring due to production problems at its plants in the Netherlands and Belgium.

After the EU pressured AstraZeneca this week to meet its commitments and then asked the company to move UK-made vaccines to the block, the EU confirmed on Friday that temporary controls will be in place.

“Protecting the health of our citizens remains our top priority and we must take the necessary measures to achieve this,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday.

“This transparency and approval mechanism is temporary and we will of course continue to honor our commitments to low and middle income countries.”

The controls are expected to last until the end of March. The bloc also triggered Article 16 of its Brexit deal with the UK, which means that exports cannot be sent to Northern Ireland, which could potentially serve as a back door to the rest of the country.

“This time-limited and targeted system only covers those Covid-19 vaccines that have been agreed with the EU under Advanced Purchase Agreements,” said Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice President and Commissioner for Trade of the EU.

“This mechanism includes a wide range of exemptions to fully meet our humanitarian commitments and protect the delivery of vaccines to our neighborhood and to countries in need covered by the COVAX facility.”

EU approves AstraZeneca vaccine

The European Union has been under pressure from what critics are calling the slow adoption of Covid vaccines. The European Commission, the body that runs the sales contracts, has been accused of not securing enough vaccines and the region’s medical agency has been criticized for taking too long to approve vaccinations that have given the go-ahead elsewhere have received.

On Friday, the European Medicines Agency approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use in the EU, about a month after it first received the green light in the UK, which recently left the block.

Speaking to CNBC on Friday, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin denied that this spit between Brussels and a British pharmaceutical company had turned into another “Brexit fight”.

“Overall, I think the European Commission has behaved well and effectively when it comes to vaccine procurement,” he said. “There is a lot of tension out there … a lot of pressure on the Commission from the Member States, from the Prime Ministers. Why? Because the people are under pressure, the people are under pressure.”