LONDON (Reuters) – Britain is confident that its COVID-19 vaccination program is safe after receiving European Union guarantees, the trade minister said on Sunday, trying to iron out a row over supplies.
Just a month after Britain completed its departure from the bloc, ties with Brussels were severely tested on Friday when the EU’s export control plan for vaccines included an emergency clause in earlier Brexit deals.
The move, which was quickly reversed, united British politicians in criticism of the EU’s threat to create a hard border, which it has long wanted to avoid between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.
‘We know the offer is secure, and we are confident that we can continue to deliver our program. “We have assured the European Union that the contracts will not be disrupted,” Liz Truss told Sky News.
With the dispute suggesting that Brexit continues to have mistrust between the two parties, Truss said she is pleased that the EU has acknowledged its “mistake”.
She pointed out: “It is important that we work together, it is important that we keep borders open, we resist vaccine nationalism and we resist protectionism.”
‘HELP OTHERS’
Truss did not rule out offering redundant offers to other nations, but only after Britain had vaccinated its population.
“In fact, we hope that in the coming months we will be able to help other countries with the supply of vaccines, including our friends and neighbors, but also the developing world,” she told Times Radio.
The EU fell far behind Britain and the United States in vaccinations. It announced on Friday that it would impose export controls on vaccines, which are widely seen as a threat to prevent doses being sent to Britain.
But it was forced to reverse part of the announcement within hours, after both Britain and Ireland complained about plans to introduce emergency export controls for vaccines across the Irish-Northern Ireland border.
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin has told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that lessons need to be learned from the series, which he says stems from a dispute between the European Commission and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.
“My observation is that the terrible queue – this is a bitter battle between AstraZeneca and the Commission over the company’s contractual obligations regarding the supply of vaccines to European member states – was at the center here,” he said.
“I think there was a shock in Europe when (there was) the original commitment of the company in terms of 100 million doses. Then it seemed that it was not going to materialize and it caused a lot of tension.”
Reported by Elizabeth Piper; Edited by Catherine Evans and Andrew Cawthorne