This article is from the source 'rtcom' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.rt.com/uk/517715-johnson-denies-covid-vaccine-controls/
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Boris Johnson denies EU claim Britain has blocked Covid vaccine exports to bloc amid war of words over jabs | Boris Johnson denies EU claim Britain has blocked Covid vaccine exports to bloc amid war of words over jabs |
(6 months later) | |
The UK has not blocked Covid-19 vaccines from reaching the EU, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday, in response to Brussels’ claims that Britain had halted such exports due to an ongoing tussle over the shots. | The UK has not blocked Covid-19 vaccines from reaching the EU, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday, in response to Brussels’ claims that Britain had halted such exports due to an ongoing tussle over the shots. |
“Let me be clear: we have not blocked the export of a single Covid-19 vaccine or vaccine component,” Johnson told MPs in the UK Parliament. | “Let me be clear: we have not blocked the export of a single Covid-19 vaccine or vaccine component,” Johnson told MPs in the UK Parliament. |
“We oppose vaccine nationalism in all its forms,” the PM continued, adding that he called on all MPs to reject accusations made by the European Council president, Charles Michel. | “We oppose vaccine nationalism in all its forms,” the PM continued, adding that he called on all MPs to reject accusations made by the European Council president, Charles Michel. |
In his weekly briefing, published on Tuesday, Michel said he was “shocked” to hear that accusations of “vaccine nationalism” had been levelled at the EU. | In his weekly briefing, published on Tuesday, Michel said he was “shocked” to hear that accusations of “vaccine nationalism” had been levelled at the EU. |
“The facts do not lie. The United Kingdom and the United States have imposed an outright ban on the export of vaccines or vaccine components produced on their territory,” his statement read. | “The facts do not lie. The United Kingdom and the United States have imposed an outright ban on the export of vaccines or vaccine components produced on their territory,” his statement read. |
On Tuesday, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was reported to have written to Michel and summoned a member of the EU’s delegation to the UK to a meeting in Whitehall in response to the comments. | On Tuesday, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was reported to have written to Michel and summoned a member of the EU’s delegation to the UK to a meeting in Whitehall in response to the comments. |
This latest row is part of a wider rift between Brussels and London over vaccine exports to the EU, which has suffered shortages of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca jabs due to production issues. | This latest row is part of a wider rift between Brussels and London over vaccine exports to the EU, which has suffered shortages of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca jabs due to production issues. |
AstraZeneca, in particular, drew the ire of Brussels after the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company announced in January that it would slash its deliveries to the EU from 80 million doses to 31 million in the first quarter of 2021. | AstraZeneca, in particular, drew the ire of Brussels after the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company announced in January that it would slash its deliveries to the EU from 80 million doses to 31 million in the first quarter of 2021. |
The EU saw the move as AstraZeneca’s failure to honour its contract and took a number of countermeasures, including the introduction of vaccine export controls to limit the number of doses leaving the 27-member bloc. | The EU saw the move as AstraZeneca’s failure to honour its contract and took a number of countermeasures, including the introduction of vaccine export controls to limit the number of doses leaving the 27-member bloc. |
The new rules require authorisation from member states to export vaccines produced within the bloc to non-EU countries, and were used last week for the first time by Italy to stop 250,000 AstraZeneca doses leaving for Australia. | The new rules require authorisation from member states to export vaccines produced within the bloc to non-EU countries, and were used last week for the first time by Italy to stop 250,000 AstraZeneca doses leaving for Australia. |
Like this story? Share it with a friend! | Like this story? Share it with a friend! |
Dear readers and commenters, | |
We have implemented a new engine for our comment section. We hope the transition goes smoothly for all of you. Unfortunately, the comments made before the change have been lost due to a technical problem. We are working on restoring them, and hoping to see you fill up the comment section with new ones. You should still be able to log in to comment using your social-media profiles, but if you signed up under an RT profile before, you are invited to create a new profile with the new commenting system. | |
Sorry for the inconvenience, and looking forward to your future comments, | |
RT Team. |