UK, EU eye 'win-win' situation on vaccines

Britain and the European Commission said they are discussing how they can work together to create a “win-win” situation on Covid-19 vaccines after the bloc threatened to take tougher measures to curb the export of deliveries of shots. The European Commission has threatened to ban exports to countries like Britain that have higher vaccination rates but do not export shots to the EU. The aim is to safeguard supplies for the bloc’s own citizens as they face a third wave of the pandemic.

“Given our interdependencies, we are working on specific steps we can take - in the short-medium and long term - to create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all our citizens,” they said in a joint statement. “In the end, openness and global cooperation of all countries will be key to finally overcome this pandemic and ensure better preparation for meeting future challenges. We will continue our discussions.” Earlier, the European Union refined its rules on the export of Covid-19 vaccines. EU trade chief Dombrovskis said the export authorisation mechanism was not targeting any specific country.

European Commission, which oversees trade policy for EU members, set out a proposal expanding existing measures that seek to ensure planned exports by drug makers do not threaten already reduced EU supply. The granting of export licences will be based on reciprocity and “proportionality” - the epidemiological situation, vaccination rate and access to vaccines in the destination country. Dombrovskis said the new rules did not create a detailed algorithm on authorisations; requests would be considered on a case-by-case basis.