Thread on a sub-fight at the European Council.
Austria appointed itself champion of countries that are lagging in vaccinations because they initially turned down Pfizer/Moderna jabs, and are now worse affected by AstraZeneca shortfalls.
A breakdown of EU vaccine rates is here:
Austria appointed itself champion of countries that are lagging in vaccinations because they initially turned down Pfizer/Moderna jabs, and are now worse affected by AstraZeneca shortfalls.
A breakdown of EU vaccine rates is here:
There's an argument that 10 million extra doses that are coming from Pfizer shouldn't be given pro-rata, but instead weighted towards countries with more infections and less vaccines.
Austria champions this, but insists that it must be among the countries to get extra.
Austria champions this, but insists that it must be among the countries to get extra.
A glance at the chart shows why this argument from Vienna has not gone down well, and indeed has held up agreement on whether to divide according to need rather than population.
Austrian PM Sebastian Kurz began all this by announcing to the public he had 'discovered' a 'secret' system of deal-making between EU countries and pharma to divide doses in a non-pro-rata way.
This was the system of sharing unwanted doses that Austria had itself participated in.
This was the system of sharing unwanted doses that Austria had itself participated in.
"At this moment it is difficult to conclude that Austria has an issue now," says Dutch PM Mark Rutte.
He says he is "very much open" however to finding a way to help Croatia, Bulgaria and Latvia.
"Nothing has happened that was not agreed as a system at the start," he says.
He says he is "very much open" however to finding a way to help Croatia, Bulgaria and Latvia.
"Nothing has happened that was not agreed as a system at the start," he says.
The eagle'eyed spotted that Kurz' camera is off in this shot of Biden's appearance (bottom right), sparking speculation he went off in a huff after not getting extra vaccines for Austria and the issue was kicked back to diplomats to discuss further
https://twitter.com/BarendLeyts/status/1375172490884866049?s=19
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