The telegraph
Ursula von der Leyen tries to blame the deputy for embarrassing upheaval in the vaccine export dispute
Ursula von der Leyen on Monday blamed trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis for the vaccine fiasco that led Brussels to threaten a hard border on the island of Ireland. The president of the European Commission threw her deputy, who heads DG Trade, under the bus amid the growing anger of EU capitals for her “go it alone” tactic during last week’s battle with AstraZeneca. Jean-Claude Juncker, Ms. Von der Leyen’s predecessor, said she “totally opposes” her export restriction measures. In a speech in Stuttgart on Sunday, Juncker also said of the EU’s procurement of vaccines: “Everything was very slow, everything should have been done more transparently, although that was difficult.” “This regulation is the responsibility of Dombrovskis,” said Eric Marmer, the European Commission’s chief spokesman, referring to the former Prime Minister of Latvia, a Brussels veteran with a reputation for being cautious. “In my country, we have a saying that says: ‘Only the Pope is infallible’. Mistakes can happen along the way, the important thing is that you recognize them early on, ”said Mamer. Alexander Stubb, the former Prime Minister of Finland who campaigned to be appointed to the European Commission, the president was scathing about Mrs Von der Leyen. He said “Rule number one of any leader: if your organization gets it wrong; never, ever blame your team publicly” Ms. Von der Leyen was forced into a humiliating escalation on Friday after announcing that Brussels would trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland, to prevent AstraZeneca vaccines from being smuggled into Great Britain from Northern Ireland. The measure, which was announced without notifying Ireland or Britain, would have created a “vaccine border” after years of Brexit negotiations to avoid a hard border on the island. After the Irish prime minister called Mrs Von der Leyen, the regulation, which could have eased the ban on the export of vaccines to countries outside the EU, including Britain, was changed. Mr. Mamer said the regulation to create an “export transparency mechanism”, which includes the Article 16 measure, was approved provisionally and quickly by the entire College of Commissioners on Friday. Asked by the Telegraph whether this was Van der Leyen’s worst week, he said: “We believe that we have been on the right path since the beginning of this pandemic to ensure that there is a European response as cohesive and effective as possible. Mrs. Von der Leyen’s attempts to pass the ball did not affect EU diplomats, who suggested she had rebelled, or German parliamentarians in Berlin, who plan to summon Ursula von der Leyen for questioning. In yet another blow to Mrs. Von der Leyen, the action was led by parliamentarians from her own party, Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU). Mrs von der Leyen has refused calls for a public debate on the disaster in the European Parliament. Instead, he will hold closed-door meetings on Tuesday with deputies and parties who have approved his nomination. It is known that Mrs Von der Leyen personally took charge of the vaccine line and that the senior official in DG Trade is Sabine Weyand, whose objections to the triggering of Article 16 have been rejected. Ms. Weyand is deeply aware of the political sensitivities surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol to the Brexit divorce treaty. She was Michel Barnier’s deputy Brexit negotiator and a key figure in creating support across the Irish border.