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Coffee House Shots

What’s behind the EU’s vaccine flip flop?

Coffee House Shots

The Spectator

Politics, Daily News, News

4.42.2K Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2021

⏱️ 14 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Ursula von der Leyen today said that the EU could block vaccine shipments to the UK if it doesn't export AstraZeneca jabs to the bloc. The Commission's head is under pressure to fix a rollout programme that continues to flounder - just 12 per cent of EU citizens have received a dose compared to 39 per cent in the UK. But why does the continent want vaccines it won't approve? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

The Spectator magazine combines incisive political analysis with books and arts reviews of unrivaled authority. Absolutely free. Go to spectator.com.uk forward slash voucher.

0:26.1

Hello and welcome to Coffee House Shots, the Spectator's Daily Politics, Daily Politics Podcast.

0:32.6

I'm Katie Balls and I'm joined by Fraser Nelson and James Forsyfe and my mind is definitely not on the cod I just

0:38.2

had for lunch. Now, we've heard today from the European Commission the latest escalation in the

0:44.6

vaccine war. The European Commission's president has warned that the EU is ready to introduce

0:49.1

emergency controls on coronavirus vaccine production distribution, pointedly saying for those who are far ahead

0:56.6

already have lots of vaccines. James, does this mean the UK could see its supply cutoff?

1:02.1

I think it could mean it could affect Pfizer exports to the UK. And Ursula Live was clear that

1:06.3

she wanted to, it wasn't going to take this action until she saw how the companies did on

1:10.4

meeting their office. In other words, you know, unless AstraZeneca's performance to just, it wasn't going to take this action until she saw how the companies did on meeting

1:11.1

their offices. In other words, you know, unless AstraZeneca's performance improves, they might take

1:16.7

the step. Now, the step that Ursula von der Leyen is a very dramatic step. It will involve

1:22.2

essentially the European Commission taking upon itself, the power not only to block exports,

1:26.9

but to seize factories,

1:28.6

to override intellectual property. It's a proper emergency measure. And there will be kind of lasting

1:36.3

consequences from the fact that Ersson-on-the-Line is even talking about this. I think one of the things

1:39.8

it sums up, though, is how the EU is changing know the US is basically producing vaccine and keeping it

1:47.5

all to itself because that is how Joe Biden thinks he's going to ramp up the vaccine production you

1:52.8

the US has a whole slew of laws on the books like the Defence Production Act that allow it to do things

1:58.1

like this the EU has always like to portray itself as kind of so some you know society based on law somehow above this kind of thing. What this crisis

2:05.5

is showing is the inner crisis the EU is going to try and use its weight and size as a block. Now this

2:12.0

is clear implications for the UK because the UK is relatively speaking a small country stock between

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