A national flag of the United Kingdom is flown next to the European Union (EU) flags outside the Berlaymont building in Brussels.
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LONDON – The European Union and the United Kingdom have clashed over the export of coronavirus vaccines, with Britain vehemently denying that it has blocked any shipments to other nations.
The latest battle came after European Council President Charles Michel accused the UK on Tuesday of having a “total ban” on Covid-19 vaccine exports.
He said in a newsletter that he was “shocked” to hear accusations of vaccine nationalism against the EU, when other parts of the world, like the United Kingdom and the United States, “imposed direct bans” on these vaccines.
This was not the first time that European officials have commented on this matter. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a news conference in February that the United States and Britain have systems that block vaccine exports.
However, the British government was quick to deny the charges on Tuesday. “The UK government has not blocked exports of a single Covid-19 vaccine. All references to a UK export ban or any vaccine restrictions are completely untrue,” a government spokesman told CNBC.
The EU did not wait long to respond. Michel, who chairs the meetings between the 27 EU heads of state, said on Twitter that there are “different ways to impose vaccines / medications bans or restrictions”.
“I am happy if the UK’s reaction leads to more transparency and increased exports,” he added.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will have discussions with EU officials on Wednesday to clarify the situation.
How did they get here
Concerns about vaccine nationalism – the idea that a country or region is doing its utmost to ensure that it has Covid-19 vaccines for its own population, even if it harms other parts of the world – arose in late January.
The European Union, which faced several problems in relation to the launch of the vaccine, legislated at the time that member states could stop exports of Covid vaccines that were produced in the bloc. But this can only be applied in two cases: if a pharmaceutical company is not fulfilling the contracts it has with the EU and if the jabs are for countries considered not to be vulnerable. Low- and middle-income countries, as well as neighboring countries, are exempt from these restrictions.
These restrictions were used for the first time last week, when Italy prevented a shipment of AstraZeneca jabs from going to Australia.
However, the EU stated that it has not blocked any exports of vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, as these companies have so far respected their commitments to the EU.
“I have long argued that the post-Brexit UK-EU relationship would be difficult, but I am even surprised at how far and how fast it sank,” said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director of the Eurasia Group, on Wednesday via Twitter.
What else is going on?
At the same time, the EU and the United Kingdom are also at odds over their post-Brexit agreements.
The United Kingdom announced that it was extending the grace periods at the Irish Sea border controls – a commitment made to the EU during negotiations to leave the bloc and which should have been completed by the end of March. Westminster has now granted UK companies until October to prepare for new customs checks.
The EU complained that this measure was not discussed with them in advance and is now preparing legal action against the UK government.