Brexit: Vaccine model ‘benefit’ of leaving EU says Labour MP

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Green MEP Anna Cavazzini sparked outrage when she branded Britain’s deal with the Anglo-Swedish giant unfair and called for urgent changes to the way the vaccine is being distributed across the bloc. She welcomed Britain’s offer to share millions of AstraZeneca doses developed in the Netherlands with the EU as a way to de-escalate tensions between the UK and Europe regarding vaccine supplies and export ban threats.

The EU are nothing more than jealous children

Express.co.uk reader

But Ms Cavazzini said it did not go far enough and urged the UK government to rewrite its AstraZeneca contract and remove its priority clause.

She said: “I would also really like to have this ‘UK first’ clause deleted from the contract because if AstraZeneca is not able to fulfil its contract with the EU why should we not share this problem.

“Why should then the UK get all the vaccines, this is really something that is a little bit unfair and ideally I think this clause should be kicked out of the contract.”

Her comments, reported by Express.co.uk, sparked an immediate backlash.

One reader said: “So there is an admission that our contract contains far better conditions on delivery etc.

“The EU doesn’t like it so they go into sulk mode, throw a wobbly and then highjack our vaccines.”

Another said: “We owe the EU nothing.

“This just proves that we need to stop off-shoring our national security to unreliable partners (enemies).

“It’s time we started importing food, cars etc from non-EU nations and make our drugs within Britain.”

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Another said: “Make up your mind EU – do you want licenses to be cancelled?

“If commercial firms default on contracts with the UK that’s a commercial right.

“In any event EU, you are so disorganised you can’t even agree whether you want to use the Oxford vaccine or not. Useless bureaucrats!”

Another said: “Maybe we could also rewrite the Withdrawal Agreement as we see fit as well?”

And another said: “The EU are nothing more than jealous children.”

The European Commission today warned coronavirus vaccines produced in the EU could be restricted from export to the UK under a tougher regime to stem supplies to nations faring better in the pandemic.

Admitting it was a Covid-19 “hotspot”, Brussels said it may not approve exports to nations with more advanced vaccine rollouts or where there is a better “epidemiological situation”.

Commission executive vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis denied the export authorisation mechanism was targeted at any one country but said 10 million jabs had moved from the EU to the UK since it introduced checks and that “zero doses” had returned from British plants.

He argued that the controls are necessary because while the EU is one of the “global hotspots of the pandemic” it is also the “largest exporter of vaccines”.

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Member states and the commission will consider two key factors before authorising vaccine exports under the mechanism, which was extended until the end of June.

First they will consider whether the destination country restricts its own exports of vaccines, or raw materials, under plans to tackle “reciprocity”.

Second, under “proportionality”, they will consider whether the “conditions prevailing” in the destination country are “better or worse than the EU’s”.

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