Telegraph readers on the EU vaccine row: 'The EU won’t get out of this mess, even by the summer''
As another vaccine row engulfs the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen has been accused of acting like a dictator for threatening to seize factories, waive patents and ban vaccine exports to the UK unless Boris Johnson surrenders British coronavirus jabs to the EU.
With post-Brexit relations seemingly at a breaking point, the EU’s vaccine strategy could have a detrimental impact on its own pandemic recovery as well as Britain's vaccine supplies.
Has the EU overstepped the mark and what should Britain do next? Read on for the best discussion points from our readers and share your own view in the comments section at the bottom of this article.
'There is going to be such a backlash across the EU'
@Ealing Ealing:
"The view from my relatives in Italy is that the EU is posturing idiotically to try and save face. There is going to be such a backlash across the EU against both the national governments and the detested European Commission, or there would be if any democratic possibilities existed in the latter case."
'This could be a defining moment in the downfall of the EU'
@Ian Forbes:
"When will the penny drop for Ursula von der Leyen and her EU Commission colleagues? The more that they mess up on this fiasco, and dig themselves deeper into the abyss, the greater the ascendency of EU scepticism and Brexit-like views across the EU.
"These actions by the unelected Mrs von der Leyen could be a defining moment in the downfall of the once-mighty European Union."
'We are seeing the reason why we wanted to be divorced from the EU'
@Gwyn Jones:
"I sincerely hope as a government, and a country, that we are taking steps behind the scenes, through increased investment in the key area of manufacturing, which is of financial and of economic importance, so that in the medium-term we can minimise any future reliance on the EU.
"We are seeing demonstrated, not for the first time, the reason we wanted to be divorced and rid of this lot. We have already witnessed an increasing cooperation with other global trading partners and this should be accelerated as quickly and as practically possible."
'The EU is showing its true colours'
@James Taylor:
"The EU is showing its true colours.
"I hope they do block vaccines and go further. It will hand investment in Europe to the UK on a plate for years."
'You cannot blame the EU for putting its own people first'
@E Bee:
"The bottom line is that each group should help their own people first regardless of contracts, because this is life and death. You cannot blame the EU for putting its own people first. We should be putting our people first!"
'Ursula von der Leyen will do more damage to Brussels than Nigel Farage ever could'
@David Price:
"Every day this gets more deranged.
"A YouGov poll reports that support for the EU in the UK fell by 8 per cent since November.
"If Ursula von der Leyen keeps this up, she’ll do more damage to Brussels than Nigel Farage ever could."
'The EU have shown themselves to be anything but our friends'
@James Gardner:
"Why does the PM keep referring to our 'friends and neighbours' in the EU? The EU may be our neighbours, but since the UK voted for Brexit they have shown themselves to be anything but our friends. Their vindictive threats over supplying coronavirus vaccines are just the latest example of their hostility to the UK. It is time for Boris to face reality
"This episode shows the necessity for the UK to refocus our economy away from service and towards manufacturing so that we become more self-sufficient. At present, we are far too dependent on China for manufactured goods and on the EU for medical supplies."
'This is starting to get very, very nasty'
@Chris Ashley:
"Well, if the latest headlines are true and the EU is threatening to invoke Article 122, then this is starting to get very, very nasty.
"No company in their right mind is going to invest in the EU if its leaders, having shown to be so utterly incompetent, are going to trample over the rule of law so that they get what they want.
"I strongly urge the EU Commission and the leaders of the EU27 to reflect very carefully on how this looks to the rest of the world."
'The EU don’t deserve any consideration from AstraZeneca'
@Cornelius Tacitus:
"Were it not for the human tragedy of the innocent victims of the dysfunctional EU which would ensue, if I were in charge of Astrazeneca, I would remove all vaccine production (both the means and technology) from Europe. Production should be centred in the UK for export around the world to poorer nations with sensible leaders who are not politically motivated to sacrifice their own people for spite.
"The EU doesn't deserve any consideration from AstraZeneca who have developed and are providing an at cost, safe, effective vaccine virtually for free. The EU threatening to sue AstraZeneca, accusing them of breach of contract, trashing the reputation of the AstraZeneca vaccine not once, but at least three times and making vaccine uptake fears soar in a pandemic is nothing less than evil."
'I cannot see a way back in the long-term'
@That Man:
"What we are witnessing here is the breakup of the EU. This sounds dramatic, because it is.
"The EU vaccine procurement fiasco was never going to end well, with economic consequences on top of mortalities. But I confess that I didn't expect this latest development – of constituent nations fighting their own corner – quite so soon.
"Subsequent economic consequences will deepen the divide until it becomes a structural failure. Add to all this the foolish ill-will shown towards a major neighbouring trading power. There will be some papering-over of the cracks but I cannot see a way back in the long-term. Or even in the shorter term."
'The EU won’t be out of this mess, even by the summer'
@Mary Robinson:
"The EU won't be out of this mess even by the summer. How do you now promote a vaccine which your Government has said is not safe to use?
"They have managed to wreck their tourist trade as people will be reluctant to visit unvaccinated countries where new variants will be multiplying. Israel will be welcoming tourists who won't go to Spain or Italy."
