AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine boxes.
Photographer: Remko de Waal / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Remko de Waal / AFP / Getty Images
The European Union’s closest neighbors, including countries in the Balkans and those with special commercial relations with the bloc, such as Norway and Switzerland, will need authorization to import Covid vaccines from the EU under a proposal to be revealed on Wednesday.
The plan, which will be released in Brussels around noon, aims to strengthen existing export rules in the EU, insisting that nations receiving doses from the EU also send the doses back. It will also take into account a country’s vaccination rate and pandemic situation when deciding on green light shipments. The mechanism will not be automatic, but will be used on a case-by-case basis, according to authorities familiar with the proposal.
The new export rules come at a time when health prospects have worsened dramatically in Europe, with many of the largest countries, including Germany and France, announcing new blockages. When EU leaders meet later this week to discuss the proposal, they will say that the “situation remains serious” and that “restrictions, including non-essential travel, must be maintained”, according to an EU document seen by the Bloomberg.
Neighboring countries will be included in the new directive due to the increased risk of third parties using their special trade privileges to help circumvent the stricter export criteria, according to a draft regulation seen by Bloomberg. The rules will include the countries of the European Free Trade Association, as well as those of the European Economic Area, according to two people familiar with the plan.
Countries that are at risk of coming into conflict with the new rules will be those that restrict their “own exports of vaccines or their raw materials, whether by law or by other means,” according to the document. This could have consequences for the United Kingdom, which, having received 11 million of the 45 million doses sent outside the EU, is by far the largest recipient of vaccines in the bloc.
In addition, the rules will include “the conditions in force in the destination country” and will include “the epidemiological situation, its vaccination rate and vaccine stocks”, according to the document.
The block administered 13 doses per 100 people, less than a third of what the UK administered, according to Bloomberg’s Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker. Israel inoculated more than half of its population.
The plan is aimed at companies like Astra that are not fulfilling their commitments and also considers possible future difficulties with companies like Pfizer Inc. that are fulfilling their obligations, according to an official familiar with the proposal, who asked not to be identified. because the plans are private. The rules do not amount to an automatic ban and are intended to increase transparency and fairness, the official said.
Another diplomat said that the EU wants to combat “vaccine tourism”, whereby Europeans are being encouraged to spend their holidays in countries with surplus vaccines only to be attacked by doses imported from the bloc.
‘Greed’ vaccine
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters in London that all countries are “fighting the same pandemic” and his government “will continue to work with our European partners”. Later that night, however, he risked igniting tensions, telling a group of conservative lawmakers at a private meeting via Zoom that the vaccine’s success in the UK was due to “greed”.
The government sought to limit the damage, with cabinet minister Priti Patel giving the rare initiative to use television interviews to try to explain the prime minister’s comments. British officials generally do not comment publicly on private discussions, such as Johnson’s meeting with his party.
Meanwhile, the Canadian government described the EU’s proposals as “worrying”. And in Australia, Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Wednesday that his country had received less than a fifth of the 3.8 million doses it contracted from AstraZeneca’s European operations. Earlier this month, Italy blocked vaccine shipments to Australia using the EU mechanism.
Low- and middle-income countries that are part of Covax’s humanitarian facilities will continue to be exempt from applying for authorization and the EU will continue to recommend that exports be allowed when they do not pose a threat to the security of the supply of vaccines and their components. The measures will remain in effect until at least the end of June, said a person familiar with the proposed law.
Summit discussion
Since February, the bloc has received more than 380 export orders to 33 different countries, for a total of about 45 million doses. So far, only one order has been rejected after Italy’s refusal to give the green light to the shipment of 250,000 doses of Astra to Australia earlier this month.
The United Kingdom is by far the main export destination, having received around 11 million doses, according to an EU document. It is followed by Canada, which obtained 7.2 million, and Japan, with 5.4 million. Saudi Arabia had 1.5 million shots and the US 900,000.
The proposals will need to be approved by EU leaders when they meet virtually on Thursday and Friday. Ministers from several countries, including France and Italy, supported the principle of reciprocity at a preparatory meeting on Tuesday, according to a diplomatic note seen by Bloomberg. Others, however, called for caution, citing the potential impact on global supply chains.
The EU and the UK are currently negotiating how to split the stock of an Astra plant in the Netherlands, which is expected to start operating in the coming weeks. A European diplomat said there is room for agreement on some form of pro-rata distribution based on population size.
– With the help of Nikos Chrysoloras, Emily Ashton and Tim Ross