Not such a happy bunny this morning …

 

Doesn’t time, as they say, fly! Only one year ago we were all preparing for our Brexit-Day celebrations. Unbelievable, isn’t it. But today all except some hard-core Remainers must be glad that we’re out. In the culmination of the Brussels-AstraZeneca vaccine warfare, Brussels showed that they easily disregard their own laws, that their top ‘politicians’ are rabid haters of the UK, that their president is so incapable that even the Germans are both furious and ashamed – and that even now that wannabe-Napoleon – he’s not a medic, as far as I know – had a go at kicking the Oxford vaccine.

Firstly, in an unprecedented step Ms vdLeyen (vdL), who yesterday morning declared that the EU vaccine treaty with AstraZeneca was ‘crystal clear’, showing that Brussels was right, went on to then publish the text of that treaty. The relevant passages about doses and time of deliveries were blackened out. That made huge waves not least in Germany, especially when some journalists pointed out that the blackened texts could be made legible because Brussels had used an obsolete programme. Scorn was heaped on her and Merkel.

How serious this is for German politicians, in Berlin or Brussels, is shown by an early report in the paywalled DT about the fury expressed in German papers (paywalled link) – and by an astounding report in the conservative ‘Die Welt’ by their London correspondent. She has never hidden her contempt for us Brits, her hatred of Brexit and Johnson. When even she is attacking Ms vdL for single-handedly destroying the credibility of the EU in the UK then you know that this was not just a little trade squabble, to be forgotten the next day (link, paywalled, in German)

Worse however was that, black-on-white, there was the passage which the CEO of AstraZeneca had mentioned in his various interviews, namely that the company would deliver, with ‘the ebay possible effort’. Yes, that’s a legal clause well known, especially used when it’s about emergency productions. So Ms vdL was accused in Germany of not even having read the text of that treaty. You can read the whole thing here – it’s in English.

There was worse to come. While the EMA gave approval to the Oxford vaccine the rabid Britain-haters in the EU had a field day. First, they demanded Brussels invoke an article banning exports to non-EU countries, then they installed a ‘hard border’ between Eire and Northern Ireland, thus thrashing tha fabulous NI protocol in the WA to which they had signed up only a month ago. The DM yesterday afternoon had a report which is worthwhile reading (link). It has all the gory details about what Brussels was planning to do. And then, in the middle of the night, there was a Brussels climb-down, as far as the hard border to NI was concerned (link) – but only as far as this beach of treaty went.

The export controls are still in place and are even going to be applied retroactively for three months. Words fail … Yesterday afternoon Ambrose Evans-Pritchard (AEP) again did not mince words but gave his fury free rein:

“The EU sledgehammer is coming down. The European Council is preparing to invoke emergency powers of Article 122 against AstraZeneca and Big Pharma within days. This nuclear option paves the way for the seizure of intellectual property and data, and arguably direct control over the production process – tantamount to war-time occupation of private companies. This is Europe First pushed to another level. It takes the EU into the territory of 1930s methods and an authoritarian command economy.”  (paywalled link)

And dontcha just know it – it’s Germany ‘at the front’:

“Germany has become the hardest of hard-liners, departing ever further from its traditional role as a good global citizen and defender of markets. The dirigiste economy minister, Peter Altmaier, says he favours seizing control of the production process and ordering companies to manufacture vaccines at multiple sites, with a gun to their head.” (paywalled link)

I’m sure other Pharma companies will be delighted, given that they might share that same fate at the drop of an EU Commissioner’s hat. The Germans were still at it, with their own ‘vaccine commission’ being upset that the EMA didn’t follow their recommendation not approve the Oxford Vaccine for the elderly (link, paywalled, in German) – and so was M Macron who intervened, dissing the Oxford vaccine while the EMA was pondering the approval of that vaccine (paywalled link).

Yes, Paris and Berlin have huge amounts of egg on their faces, and their intervention is now out there, for all non-EU states to see. Never mind – it’s about power and the EU has indeed that power to proceed as AEP described above. Here it is:

“Charles Michel, President of the European Council, is being badgered by member states to take action before the escalating vaccine crisis mutates into a political crisis as well and starts to topple governments. He is offering them the most extreme option available in the Lisbon Treaty. Article 122 allows the EU to take emergency steps “if severe difficulties arise in the supply of certain products”, or “if a Member State is in difficulties or is seriously threatened with severe difficulties caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences beyond its control”. Mr Michel raised the idea in a letter to four prime ministers on Wednesday night. He is now canvassing all 27 leaders.” (paywalled link)

Clearly, Brussels was already preparing well in advance for this vaccine warfare, no matter the publication of that treaty, no matter that they knew AstraZeneca was in the right. There are warnings from international entities already, about a worsening of this vaccine crisis, should Brussels go ahead. While AEP asks, rationally, what Brussels wants to achieve with this manoeuvre, it must be obvious that Brussels and indeed the EU is heaving with those who crave dealing out punishment to us in the UK, no matter that they’re damaging themselves in the process:

“It is hard to see what can be achieved by resorting to Article 122. Muscling in on vaccine plants or seizing intellectual property will not conjure extra doses within a meaningful time-frame. It is more likely to set off a downward spiral. […] Brussels can shut off shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab to the UK (by now just a fifth of the daily vaccines). But that would be injudicious. Europa may later need Valneva and Novavax doses manufactured in this country.” (paywalled link)

Just so – and isn’t it just lovely to read that mighty Brussels has only now started talking with the Novavax manufacturers while the UK has already ordered and secured 60 million doses which re going to be manufactured in teesside. I’m sure the EU ‘war against Astrazeneca’, with this latest export control imposition will make the Novavax negotiator very happy to comply with EU diktats … AEP concludes:

“The EU’s demarche is a misreading of British public emotion, not for the first time. This nation might well respond with altruism to a request for shared doses, if asked in a spirit of fraternal solidarity. It reacts very badly to threats.” (paywalled link)

Just so – but the main point isn’t the vaccine war or indeed the international fight against covid. It’s the clear presentation of the ugly face, the hobnailed boots of Brussels for all the world to see. If the EU can do this, in an extraordinary such as this pandemic – what can and will they do to other, smaller Non-EU states when Berlin or Paris demands?

I leave you with news that two warhorses have returned. RemainCentral – of course, who else – has interviewed Michel Barnier on this issue who said:

“We are facing an extraordinarily serious crisis, which is creating a lot of suffering, which is causing a lot of deaths in the UK, in France, in Germany, everywhere. And I believe that we must face this crisis with responsibility, certainly not with the spirit of one upmanship or unhealthy competition,” he says. “I recommend preserving the spirit of co-operation between us. This is the substance of my message today, because we are unfortunately going to have many chances in the coming years to show solidarity. Reciprocally. In the fight against terrorism, climate change, financial crises, disasters.” (link, paywalled)

A leopard changing his spots? Or perhaps the first salvo in M Barnier’s attempt to replace – allegedly – Macron in next year’s French elections? And then there’s Frosty. He was supposed to become Downing Street’s security advisor – and now he ain’t:

“In a surprise move the prime minister asked Lord Frost to step down from the role to which he was appointed last year and oversee the new trade and co-operation deal with Brussels.It is understood that as recently as last week Lord Frost was expecting to take up the new role on Monday.” (link, paywalled)

Apparently, Whitehall and Downing Street realised that Brussels wasn’t going to relent in their anti-UK warfare, with ‘senior source’s saying that his expertise would be critical to oversee relations with Brussels.” (link, paywalled). So now he’s back:

“Downing Street said that Lord Frost would be responsible for leading Britain’s institutional and strategic relationship with the EU.” (link, paywalled)

It’s obvious to me that this decision wasn’t taken in haste but was accelerated thanks to Brussels’ vaccine warfare which must have started behind doors closed to us plebs – and that BJ made this announcement just in time, as this whole thing erupted. 

Brussels must now scramble to either regain the trust of the international community  or to implement their unprecedented coercion instruments with all the consequences for their standing in the International community. Meanwhile, Frosty is back – and he certainly knows how to get Brussels to toe the legal line, vaccine wars or not.

 

KBO!

 

Photo by EU2017EE

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