The EU27 has been plunged into crisis after its supply of Oxford/AstraZeneca jabs was slashed following production issues at a manufacturing plant in Belgium. The UK has ordered more than 100million doses of the vaccine developed by scientists at the University of Oxford, and the Government placed its order three months before the EU.
Last week, AstraZeneca said vaccine supplies to the EU would be cut by as much as 60 percent until March.
Panic then began to swarm across the bloc, and on Friday EU officials moved to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol, agreed in the Brexit withdrawal agreement, in a bid to control the flow of vaccines out of Europe – before making a sudden U-turn.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has since admitted she regretted the decision.
But, the EU chief has called on AstraZeneca to send doses of the vaccine produced in the UK to Europe.
This demand has triggered a furious response from a number of Express.co.uk readers, with one saying “the EU should not jump the queue”.
Commenting on a story on this website, one reader said: “Our excess vaccines should go into the pool that’s used for the whole world.
“There is merit in vaccinating ROI because we have a common travel area – but the EU should not jump the queue.”
Another said: “Unbelievable! Who is she to demand anything of us?”
A third commented: “EU stop trying to steal British vaccines.”
Meanwhile a fourth said: “It is quite stunning how these people worked with us and controlled many areas of our laws for almost five decades and yet they still – still – do not get that people in the UK do not take kindly to being ordered about.
“Whatever the ins and outs of this fiasco, the fact is had the EU elite apologised to its people for its mistakes and then asked us if we could help, the chances are we would have been far more forthcoming.”
On Sunday, Ms von der Leyen confirmed a deal had been reached with AstraZeneca for an additional nine million doses, taking the total number to 40 million by March.
