◼ POLITICS Bloomberg Businessweek February 8, 2021
37THEBOTTOMLINE TheEUlagstheU.K.andtheU.S.in
vaccinationsasofficialsfightdrugmakersforsuppliesandthreaten
exportcontrols,erodingconfidencein itsstrategy.theU.K.andtheU.S.insigningdealsforvaccines
andingettingregulatoryapprovaltousethem.
Unforeseenpharmaceuticalplantslowdowns,plus
memberstates’inconsistentapproachtodelivery,
havefurthersloweddistribution.TohearEUoffi-
cials,therewasnosinglemisstepbutrathera suc-
cessionofeventsthatcausedthecrisis.
Almosta yearago,whenCovid-19wasdeclared
a pandemicandcasesweremountinginEurope,
governmentsincludingGermany’sandFrance’s
tookunilateralactiontosafeguardprotective
equipmentandclosenationalborders.Thatleft
a bittertasteandfedresentmentacrossthecon-
tinent.SoinJune,despitegrumblinginseveral
capitals,EUgovernmentschosetocooperateon
vaccineprocurementsotheircollectiveeconomic
andpoliticalheftwouldgivethemanadvantagein
bothpriceandsecuringshots.Theyalsohopedit
wouldpreventthebloc’ssmallercountriesfrom
beingleftbehindor,worse,turningtoRussiaor
Chinatofindvaccines.
AsrecentlyasJan.8 thecommissionboastedof
securingasmanyas2.3billiondosesthatwouldnot
onlyserveitsowncitizensbutcouldalsobesent
toneighboringnationsoutsidethebloc.Nowit’s
facinga shortfall,whichGermanHealthMinister
JensSpahnsaidonJan. 28 couldlastanadditional
10 weeks.ChancellorAngelaMerkelconveneda
virtualmeetingofGermanstateleadersandcom-
panyrepresentativesonFeb.1 todiscussvaccine
supplies.Ata newsconferencethatday,Merkel
promisedallGermanswillreceivea vaccinebythe
endofSeptember.
Ratherthan“Europe’smoment,”asvonder
LeyendescribedtherolloutinDecember,officials
inBrusselstalkaboutcomplacencyandoverconfi-
dencethattheEU’srelativesizewouldensuresuc-
cess.A healthofficialinonememberstatesaysthe
EU’srelativelyinflexiblevaccinebudgethadreduced
itsnegotiatingpower.Whilesomecountrieshave
thrownmoneyattheproblem,thecommissionwas
carefultonegotiateonprice,a practicethatsomein
Brusselsseeashavingsentit tothebackoftheline.
Thatrigidity—coupledwithsomecountries’
intentiontocircumventthejointprocessfrom
theoutset—gottheprogramofftoa badstart,says
thehealthofficial,whospokeontheconditionof
anonymity because of the sensitivity of discussions.
The European Medicines Agency, unlike its coun-
terparts in the U.K. and the U.S., didn’t use emer-
gency authorization to speed vaccine approval. By
yearend, as the U.K. stepped up its vaccination pro-
gram, having approved the BioNTech-Pfizer shot
three weeks before the bloc, the EU was already
well behind. Then in January, Pfizer Inc., from which
the bloc had the option to buy 600 million doses,
said it would delay supplies to readjust its produc-
tion. That prompted a group of northern EU states
to warn of “severe concern” about the credibility of
the bloc’s vaccination program. The standoff with
AstraZeneca took things to a new level. And the
European Commission fumbled again on Jan. 29,
when it announced it would introduce controls on
vaccine exports from the EU to Northern Ireland, a
sensitive issue after the Brexit agreement ensured
an open Irish border following decades of violence.
The move provoked anger and an abrupt U-turn by
the commission.
The whole saga could boost populist politicians
whose euroskeptic vigor had recently waned. In
January, Hungary became the first EU country to
greenlighta Russianvaccinebeforeit wasapproved
bytheEuropeanregulator.CzechPrimeMinister
AndrejBabissaidhecoulddosomethingsimilar,
havingearlierslammedPfizerfordelays.
Domesticpoliticalpressureis growingongov-
ernments.Somehavetocancelplannedvaccina-
tionsandmaintainpublicrestrictionswithnoend
insight.TheNetherlandssawitsworstriotsinfour
decadesagainsta governmentcurfew.Christophe
Castaner,headofPresidentEmmanuelMacron’s
partyintheNationalAssembly,toldLeParisien
newspapertherewasa riskof“civildisobedience”
inFrance,too.
NationalistleaderMarineLePencalledFrance
“thelaughingstockofthedevelopedworld”forthe
slowstartofitsvaccinationcampaign,whilethe
far-rightAlternativeforGermany(AfD)partysaid
theresponsibilityforprocuringdosesshouldnever
havebeenhandedtotheEU.Referringtothebloc’s
“supposed”vaccinestrategy,SylviaLimmer,AfD
healthspokeswomanintheEuropeanParliament,
said“itshowsthatwithBrexittheBritishhavedone
everythingright.”
TheEU’splightis embarrassingforitsleadership,
coming so soon after signing a post-Brexit trade deal
with the U.K. following years of insisting Britain
would be handicapped by leaving the club. Plans to
tighten rules on the export of vaccines produced in
the EU may help alleviate the shortage there but at
the risk of stoking protectionism. Export curbs could
disrupt vaccine supply chains as billions of people
wait to be inoculated, giving virus mutations more
time to spread and potentially render the available
shots less effective. �Ian Wishart, Alberto Nardelli,
and Arne Delfs, with Dara Doyle, Nikos Chrysoloras,
Viktoria Dendrinou, and Naomi Kresge● Extra vaccine doses
AstraZeneca agreed to
give the EU in the first
quarter9m