When will this shit end?

[Mr.Tease]

What a cluster****

Australia has not been included in a list of more than 120 countries exemption from a controversial European Union decision granting itself the power to block vaccine manufacturers from exporting the jab overseas.

On Friday Australia’s health minister Greg Hunt confirmed the country would raise the bloc’s threat to limit vaccine exports with officials on the continent, as well as with the World Health Organisation. 

But overnight the European Commission unveiled new export restrictions which give it final say on whether vaccines, including those produced by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and AstraZeneca, can leave Europe. 

The EU published a list of more than 120 countries exempted from the controls, but it did not include Australia. 

That will cause major concerns for the Australian government, which is relying on receiving about 10m doses of the Pfizer vaccine this year. 

It is also due to receive 1.2m doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Europe, already less than it was initially expecting due to the company’s well-publicised production shortfall.

Pfizer this week told a Senate hearing that it would consider shifting production of its vaccine to the United States in a bid to avoid any export ban.

“It’s obviously critical that governments don’t impose export ­restrictions or trade barriers,” Pfizer Australia and New Zealand medical director Krishan Thiru said.

“Should that happen we will explore what options are available. We have large scale of manufacturing across the US and ­Europe. No determination has been made at this point in time about switching the source of our manufacture of

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/jan/29/coronavirus-live-news-novavax-effective-against-uk-variant-but-less-so-against-south-african-one

 

[xxialac]

UK COVID update:

New cases: 29,079 - In hospital: 33,784 (-1,045) - In ICU: 3,851 (-77) - New deaths: 1,245

[stuartbert two hats]

5 minutes ago, dingbat2 said:

... thanks again, but having a look at that it only asks the same questions but doesn't actually explain what the difference is, unless I have missed something?

It's basically the same question raised on here (by yourself?), but with more detail. You'll need Twitter to see if there any any decent answers in the replies. There weren't many last time I looked.

[stuartbert two hats]

4 minutes ago, xxialac said:

You can bet your bottom dollar that if the EU ended up looking like it was going to get the AZ vaccines after all, the UK, "as a friend and ally", would be doing stuff to disrupt the fulfilment of these contracts.

It's a zero sum game and either party is going to insist on the supplies they contracted.

It's only zero sum in the very short term. Working together is always more productive.

[xxialac]

1 minute ago, stuartbert two hats said:

It's only zero sum in the very short term. Working together is always more productive.

If only, yes.

Also Europe has been a source of bloody wars and the EU has overseen a long run of peace. 

[zahidf]

7 minutes ago, xxialac said:

You can bet your bottom dollar that if the EU ended up looking like it was going to get the AZ vaccines after all, the UK, "as a friend and ally", would be doing stuff to disrupt the fulfilment of these contracts.

It's a zero sum game and either party is going to insist on the supplies they contracted.

? Isn't that hypothetical whataboutism?

 

[xxialac]

2 minutes ago, zahidf said:

? Isn't that hypothetical whataboutism?

 

Yep.

Wasn't a slight on the UK. All countries would be 'protectionist' in this instance and UK no different.

But point was that we can't have a holier-than-thou attitude to this when we would do the same if the roles were reversed.

[JB15]

3 minutes ago, xxialac said:

If only, yes.

Also Europe has been a source of bloody wars and the EU has overseen a long run of peace. 

It has. 
 

But the EU is being really stupid here. As much as I would love to have remained in the EU and still love the idea of it, they have to accept that a contract between the U.K. and AZ is not their business. And if they wanted the contract the U.K. has with AZ, they should have negotiated it earlier than they did. 
 

The EU has been so poor, it’s made boris and Gove look like competent adults!

[zahidf]

Dooohhhhh

 

 

 

 

 

[steviewevie]

53 minutes ago, Ozanne said:

Someone said the rejoin campaign is dead on the last page I think. 

me!

[xxialac]

Just now, steviewevie said:

me!

W

 

2 minutes ago, JB15 said:

It has. 
 

But the EU is being really stupid here. As much as I would love to have remained in the EU and still love the idea of it, they have to accept that a contract between the U.K. and AZ is not their business. And if they wanted the contract the U.K. has with AZ, they should have negotiated it earlier than they did. 
 

The EU has been so poor, it’s made boris and Gove look like competent adults!

Van der Leyen is the EU President and she only talks about honouring the contract between the EU and AZ not between the UK and AZ. All the noise is distorting the key messages from the EU which are that AZ needs to fulfil its contractual requirements.

And such contracts don't work on a first-come-first-served basis. You deliver what you promise or you are in breach.

[stuartbert two hats]

 

 

[steviewevie]

I'm mr remainer...but I'm not really a fan of the EU...more that I like the idea of no borders etc. in a dippy hippy internationalist sort of way....especially with all the war and fascism that came before it.

EU fucked up here though. Commission seems to be in a bit of a panic...but putting up a border between N Ireland and ROI is really short sighted considering that was a main factor in the brexit negotiations. Not sure this would have happened under Juncker. In the end we are all fighting the same enemy, the virus. The world has cooperated and done a great job with these vaccines, now we need to make sure we continue to cooperate so they are distributed as evenly and fairly as possible.

[zahidf]

19 minutes ago, xxialac said:

Yep.

Wasn't a slight on the UK. All countries would be 'protectionist' in this instance and UK no different.

But point was that we can't have a holier-than-thou attitude to this when we would do the same if the roles were reversed.

Well its not a holier than thou attitude to have a go at the EU for the shitty way they are acting NOW due to their own errors.

[steviewevie]

Well, Article 16 being withdrawn...so that's over with...but that was quite the fuck up there by the EU commission. EU governments and voters are going to be getting very fucked off with all this..might help if some in UK stop gloating how well UK is doing relative to EU, but this is very unlikely.

[steviewevie]

Poor N Ireland stuck in the middle, this might not be the last time this sort of thing happens.

[Suprefan]

Who needs a new mask idea 

[steviewevie]

 

[xxialac]

19 minutes ago, zahidf said:

Well its not a holier than thou attitude to have a go at the EU for the shitty way they are acting NOW due to their own errors.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-54073836

[zahidf]

4 minutes ago, steviewevie said:

Poor N Ireland stuck in the middle, this might not be the last time this sort of thing happens.

Well.... the EU have lost the moral high ground if we ever decide to do it!

 

Someone at the commission needs to get a grip. Even barnier is telling them to calm the hell down 

[zahidf]

1 minute ago, xxialac said:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-54073836

Whats that got to with their actions now? 

Edited January 29, 2021 by zahidf

[Mr.Tease]

21 minutes ago, zahidf said:

Well its not a holier than thou attitude to have a go at the EU for the shitty way they are acting NOW due to their own errors.

The irony is, now they’ve had to withdraw article 16, if they tried to block the vaccines destined for the Uk, we could just import them via Northern Ireland, just as they feared we would😂

[steviewevie]

2 minutes ago, zahidf said:

Well.... the EU have lost the moral high ground if we ever decide to do it!

 

even stevens?

[steviewevie]

Still, a fun distraction from all the death.

[xxialac]

1 minute ago, zahidf said:

Whats that got to with their actions now? 

I was pointing out that the UK broke international law a mere few months ago (by its own admission) in relation to my comment about holier-than-thou attitudes.