EU officials deny ban on vaccine exports to UK

Some of the biggest pharmaceutical production sites in the EU have been working at full speed to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines. Since January, when the European Commission put in place a mechanism for exporting vaccines, Brussels has granted 380 export requests. Only one shipment, from Italy to Australia, has been blocked.

There are also consignments as part of the United Nations-led global vaccine initiative, COVAX, but the EU does not have to approve these shipments to 92 low- and middle-income countries, in Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia, which have been negligible in terms of quantity. Overall, 43 million doses of vaccines have been supplied to 32 countries from production sites in the EU.

Stella Kyriakides, the European Union's health commissioner, has rejected accusations from British officials that the EU had established a ban on exports. However, the bloc did tighten export controls on Wednesday. 

Supporting 'global solidarity'

It has been reported that the United Kingdom has received 10 million of the 43 million doses of the vaccine manufactured by the British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca within the EU, even though the company has manufactured large quantities of the vaccine in Britain, as well. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this was not "proportionate" considering that Britain already had enough doses to vaccinate half of its population. By comparison, EU member states only have enough doses for about 10-12% of the population. Diplomats have pointed out that Britain had signed an advantageous contract with AstraZeneca that gives priority to the United Kingdom for the first doses, which makes it almost impossible to export jabs from to the bloc. Criticizing a perceived lack of "reciprocity," the European Commission has now introduced this principle as well as that of "proportionality" as criteria for approving exports. 

"We have today adopted two adjustments to the existing mechanism," European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis said on Wednesday in Brussels. "These are necessary to our objective of ensuring timely access to COVID-19 vaccine for EU citizens." 

This would make it more difficult for the European Union to export to Britain, but Kyriakides refused to describe the restriction as a "ban." "We're dealing with a pandemic, and this is not seeking to punish any countries," she said. "We are the strongest supporters of global solidarity. And I think it is extremely important that what we have now is an instrument that will just give us more scope."

Zero vaccine reciprocity?

The United States has also stopped exporting vaccines to the EU and has been concentrating on Canada and Mexico. As a result, the European Union will no longer send shipments to the US. One diplomat from the bloc said this was akin to "zero reciprocity." 

AstraZeneca can be blamed for all this commotion because it is well behind on its commitments to the European Union. On Wednesday, 29 million doses of the company's vaccine were found in a warehouse in Italy. Though it is as yet unclear whether these were intended for export, some German officials have already expressed optimism that, if the doses were distributed within the bloc, the domestic vaccination campaign would receive a boost. 

Dombrovski said the export restrictions would have no effect on stated commitments to lower-income countries. According to the United Nations, only 31 million doses have been supplied to the 92 countries in the COVAX program. More than 130 million doses are expected to be delivered by May.  

EU diplomats say the European Union should receive vaccines first because, at a time when the pandemic is raging, it is difficult to explain to citizens that a vaccine being produced within the bloc is being exported. "Europe has taken every step to act safely and responsibly, mindful of our global leadership role, since the the start of the pandemic," Dombrovski said. "The EU remains the biggest global exporter of vaccines. We are the largest contributor to the low-and middle-income countries in the so-called COVAX facility." 

So far, the European Union has ordered 2.6 billion doses from six different manufacturers but a significant increase in shipments is not expected until the second quarter of this year. According to the United Nations, Malta has received the most doses in the EU relative to its population (33%) while Bulgaria has received the fewest (6%). Germany is in the middle, at 13%. On Thursday, EU leaders will examine why the distribution across the bloc is so uneven. 

This article has been translated from German.