1/ The principle of 'reciprocity' of supply is at the heart of finding a solution to the UK-EU vaccines stand-off. But it's not a simple case of counting jabs export numbers. It's also about weighing each party's overall contribution to the development and production of vaccines.
2/ This is not only about finished vaccines, but also about international supply chains and the raw materials that go into them. Croda International, based in Yorkshire, provides lipid components for the Pfizer jab which is made here in Belgium, for example.
3/ And then there's the question of public funding towards the development of vaccines and scaling up of production. Should that count towards reciprocity? The UK contributed £88 million to getting the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab off the ground. Germany and the EU gave Pfizer funding.
4/ The EU Commission recognises this dynamic to reciprocity. A spokesman says: 'This has to be understood in the wide sense. This is not about "I give you one dose, you give me one dose". That would be a bit absurd. It's about the whole process of producing vaccines.'
5/ Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic said the EU will carry out a 'comprehensive assessment of the overall situation of the supply of materials, of the investment' in a third country when determining whether the conditions for reciprocity have been met.
6/ All this suggests talks on the subject are now drilling down into the detail of what sort of overall balance is acceptable to all sides. And that gives some reason to believe the UK, the EU, and AstraZeneca may be able to together find a solution to avoid a full on export ban.
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