Britain denies ‘false’ EU claims over Covid vaccine dispute over

LONDON – The European Union and the United Kingdom have clashed over exports of coronavirus vaccines, with Britain vehemently denying blocking shipments to other countries.

The latest battle erupted after European Council President Charles Michel accused the UK on Tuesday of imposing a “total ban” on the export of Covid-19 vaccines.

He said in a newsletter that he was ‘shocked’ when he heard accusations of vaccine nationalism against the EU, while other parts of the world, such as the UK and the US, ‘applied these banned vaccines’.

This was not the first time that European officials have commented on this. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said at a press conference in February that the United States and Britain have systems that block the export of vaccines.

However, the British government quickly denied the allegations on Tuesday. “The UK government has not blocked the export of a single Covid-19 vaccine. Any references to a UK export ban or any restrictions on vaccines are completely false,” 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 ban or restrict bans or medicines.”

“Stay as the British response leads to more transparency and greater exports,” he added.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will hold talks with EU officials on Wednesday to clarify the situation.

Concern 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 is to the detriment of other parts of the world, appeared in late January.

The European Union, which faced several problems with the deployment of vaccines, at the time passed legislation allowing member states to stop the export of Covid vaccines produced in the bloc. But this can only be applied in two cases: if a pharmaceutical company does not fulfill the contracts it has with the EU, and if the jabs go to countries that are considered non-vulnerable. Low- and middle-income nations, as well as neighboring countries, are exempt from these restrictions.

These restrictions were first used last week when Italy stopped a load of AstraZeneca pickups to Australia.

However, the EU has said it has not blocked any exports of vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, as these companies have so far complied with their EU commitments.

“I have long argued that the relationship between the UK and the EU would be difficult after Brexit, but even I am amazed at how far and fast it has sunk,” Mujtaba Rahman, managing director of Eurasia Group, said via Twitter on Wednesday .

The EU and the UK are also in conflict with their post-Brexit arrangements.

The United Kingdom has announced that it will extend the grace periods on Irish border controls – a commitment made by the EU during the negotiations to leave the bloc and which should be completed by the end of March. Westminster has now given British businesses until October to prepare for new custom checks.

The EU complains that this step has not been discussed with them in advance and is now preparing legal action against the British government.