Thread by @DaveKeating

Thread: MEPs supporting @EUCOpresident's comment on UK not exporting vaccines

"Politically Michel was right to point to the issue, but his wording was not precise" says @PeterLiese, health lead for EP's largest group

But should EU adopt same 'me me I'm first' approach as UK&US?

"We’re falling back into 19th century, this doesn't solve a pandemic," says EP industry committee chair Christian Ehler of "antagonistic" vaccine approach of US&UK

"If we just think about our territory we might have a political benefit in the moment but that won't work for long"

But EU politicians increasingly feel EU has been naive on vaccines.

Germany funded BioNTech like UK funded Oxford. Should Germany have insisted on a 'Europe First' provision like UK apparently has?

"Maybe EU has been a bit too optimistic on international cooperation"says Liese

"I was always for cooperation" says Liese.

"Germany cannot behave like the UK, it would be a disaster if the biggest country in centre of Europe would have vaccines and not share with others. The right-wing press is arguing this way but I cannot imaging we could survive"

"I remember last May when we had this international conference by von der Leyen and WHO. Johnson was there and he said we’re all in this together. At the same time he signed a UK-first contract. This has to have some reaction"

But... "If anything I think the export control mechanism came too late, and the EU reaction to Trump and UK when this became obvious was not strong enough," says Liese.

"I would even go further and consider a complete export ban."

"We have more vaccines now in Europe than we need to quickly vaccinate the whole population," says Liese.

"I’m still against EU-first policies but we have to consider additional measures if the others don’t change their attitude."

But Ehler worries about a race to the bottom. "If everyone would behave as antagonistically as US & UK are at the moment, we’re all going to lose."

He notes EU is getting lipids for Pfizer vaccines production from Canada. 'No country in the world is self-sufficient on vaccines'

"Opening production in Europe for rest of the world is not a way of being naïve and the others clever because they want to cannibalise the system. It’s simply the rational approach you need to have to fight a pandemic," says Ehler.

Liese wants to see EU get as tough with US as they're getting with UK.

"We are behaving as if @JoeBiden is an angel, but in this case Joe Biden is Donald Trump. And I don’t want to be kind to someone who’s keeping Europeans from being vaccinated"

He cites delayed delivery of Johnson & Johnson following expected EU approval tomorrow as symptomatic of the America First problem on vaccines.

"The CEO of Johnson & Johnson and Biden should talk to European Union leaders to find a solution."

He notes J&J should be worried about suffering same reputational damage as AZ.

"They sell products directly to the consumer, and not treating Europe well would be bad for them. We know they are delivering to US"

EU consumers will have this in their minds at the grocery store.

Liese also wants to know why Johnson & Johnson is insisting on sending doses made in the EU to the US for finishing before sending them back to the EU, and assurances those vials won't get caught in the US vaccine export ban and never come back to Europe.

On AstraZeneca, Liese says company reps admitted to him that AZ doses have been exported from EU to UK.

"They are saying they have a UK-first contract....only when there is enough for the UK they are ready to export."