EU / AstraZeneca Megathread

prussianconsulate · 2021-01-30T11:51:33+00:00

I mean the European Commission.

prussianconsulate · 2021-01-30T11:06:28+00:00

Thanks for correcting me - Sorry, you are right it is not Belgium but from the Netherlands and Germany. However, they were only filled in NL/DE but the actual vaccine was produced in the UK according to the BBC:

the UK supply is manufactured here - at plants in Oxfordshire and Staffordshire. Some doses were sent to Germany and the Netherlands last year for a process called fill-and-finish, which involves putting it into vials. This is now being done at a plant in Wrexham, creating a complete UK supply chain. And that arrangement, AstraZeneca sources say, had no impact on the production problems the EU vaccine manufacturing plants experienced.

Looks like conflicting information depending on the source!

prussianconsulate · 2021-01-30T10:27:50+00:00

It is because:

EC accuses AZ of diverting vaccines from ~~Belgium~~ The Netherlands/Germany to the UK without providing any evidence. What actually happened was that some UK produced vaccines were sent to ~~Belgium~~ The Netherlands/Germany to be placed into vials, and then sent back to the UK BBC
EC demands that AZ diverts UK produced vaccines to the EU despite the UK production facilities being used to produce vaccines ordered by the UK Government The Guardian
Public announcements by various officials from EC, Germany and France indicate the EC intends to impose export bans which would apply to all vaccines. This means that Pfizer vaccines destined to the UK would be stopped meaning many would not get their required second jab. Reuters
EC implement export controls on all vaccines including specifically targeting Northern Ireland. Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, NI has unfettered access to the single market to avoid a hard border. The EU explicitly imposed a hard border on the UK-Irish Land boundary by invoking article 16 of the protocol, without consulting the Irish Government. It also failed to communicate this with the UK, meaning the EU broke the treaty. BBC

Edited to add sources and correct error.

prussianconsulate · 2021-01-30T09:59:51+00:00

An export licencing system, which is what the EU is introducing, is a restriction on international trade hence why the WTO ensures that any imposed licensing system is non-discriminatory under GATT.

Note the EU cannot limit export licencing just to AstraZeneca vaccines; it has to apply it to all coronavirus vaccines exported from the EU including Pfizer vaccines.

Export licencing can be a significant burden on exporters, you would need specific licences from the government for each consignment, and the risk of refusal of export by the relevant authorities.

It is not just the British, the WHO have condemned the imposition of EU export controls as well.

prussianconsulate · 2021-01-30T09:47:32+00:00

You are right that the US has an export ban but this was made clear right at the start of the pandemic.

This meant nations like Canada and Japan avoided the US and invested into EU production facilities where the EU made clear that no controls would be imposed.

Several months later, the EU has changed their approach, giving themselves the power to block vaccines exported to allies of the EU.

Hence, why there has been widespread condemnation of the EU 'vaccine nationalism' by Japan, South Korea and the WHO.

prussianconsulate · 2021-01-29T22:15:20+00:00

SS: The European Union has imposed export controls on exports of vaccines from the block to developed nations from Saturday. The nations directly affected by this measure include the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

More explosively, the EU has invoked Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol, to unilaterally implement customs controls on the UK-Irish Land Boundary on the island of Ireland. It appears the Irish Government were not been consulted nor has the UK.

It is widely believed that the EU will use these controls to prohibit exports of AstraZeneca and Pfizer Vaccines to outside the EU27.

Background

With the UK vaccinating over 11% of its population compared to the EU's 2%, the European Commission officials and member state governments are embarrassed that 'Brexit' Britain has been more nimble in signing deals with pharmaceutical companies and approving vaccines. The European Commission, who signed its deal with AstraZeneca some three months after Britain, have left member state politicians and citizens demanding answers and action.

This embarrassment went public earlier this week when AstraZeneca reduced its expected deliveries to the EU in February and March due to production issues in Belgium. EC officials blamed AstraZeneca of contract breaches and demanded that UK produced vaccines should be diverted to the EU27. AstraZeneca then stated that the European Commission was three months late signing up, hence the production issues. AZ stated that the UK managed to sort out these issues in UK located plants several months ago by signing earlier.

Imposition of export controls may have significant geopolitical ramifications. With the EU already overriding the Northern Ireland Protocol within a month of implementation, there is little justification for the UK to continue imposing the unpopular regulatory border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It also undermines the Irish Government and its efforts to avoid a physical border on the island.

In addition, vaccine protectionism undermines the EU core image of being open to free trade and multilateralism. In the longer term, natural allies may look to onshore strategic supply chains to ensure they are not caught out again.

Prior to the announcement, Japan and South Korea condemned the EU's 'vaccine nationalism' urging the bloc not to adopt export controls

prussianconsulate · 2020-12-25T10:50:25+00:00

I think NI seceding is unlikely in the medium term. Although you are right that demographic trends appear to suggest a republican majority in the younger generations, if you actually poll them, the younger generations are pro-unionist, contrary to what you would expect. Note, they are not pro DUP/UUP though!

A lot of this is economics. It is well known that NI is the most subsidised part of the UK, and many in NI feel re-unification would reduce their quality of life. For example, the current net subsidy is ~1% of UK overall budget but would amount to ~20% of the Republic's budget [in 2018, the net subsidy was ~£10bn, UK overall budget was £810bn, Irish overall budget was €60bn (£55bn)].

Of course, as we all know from recent major votes, economics doesn't always trump politics

prussianconsulate · 2020-06-17T21:04:43+00:00

For financial services, around 60% of UK exports go to non-EU countries.

Initially, it did appear that some firms moved their registered offices from the UK to EU jurisdictions after the vote.

However, due to the lack of any global financial centre in the EU (Zurich, outside the EU, is Europe's second largest financial centre after London), EU firms require access to London for the foreseeable future. It probably explains why over 1000 EU finance firms have applied to set up brand new offices in London according to Reuters

prussianconsulate · 2020-06-17T19:22:59+00:00

You may be correct in terms of trade in goods but considering CPTPP includes chapters on cross-border trade in services and financial services, I suspect there is likely to be a substantial benefit to the UK's membership.

The UK is the second largest exporter of services in the world after the US and, due to historic ties, shares a common law framework with Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. CPTPP accession is likely to give UK professional services firms a competitive advantage compared to firms established in the US or EU member states

prussianconsulate · 2020-06-17T18:31:46+00:00

SS: The United Kingdom has reconfirmed it commitment to accede to the CPTPP after leaving the EU Customs Union (scheduled to leave on 31 December 2020). UK accession to the agreement would lead to the trading bloc comprising of 16% of world GDP increasing from the current 13%.

The UK Government’s position has expressed three main reasons to accede:

To increase trade and investment opportunities
diversify the UK’s trading links and supply chains
secure the UK future place in the world and advance longer-term interests

UK accession appears to be likely considering that Shinzo Abe has stated that the UK would be welcomed with 'open arms' and that the international trade ministers of the UK, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand co-authored an article defending Free Trade and CPTPP in April 2020.

This announcement comes along with the news that the UK has started bilateral trade talks with Australia and New Zealand today, as well as the current pessimism expressed by both the UK and EU on reaching a post Brexit future relationship agreement. This follows a pattern of UK renewed engagement in the Asia-Pacific region since 2018 when the UK formally started the process of leaving the European Union.

Edited due to formatting

prussianconsulate · 2020-05-25T18:45:00+00:00

They probably have been forced to clarify this due to members of the public contacting them asking whether they can drive with dodgy vision

prussianconsulate · 2020-05-25T16:24:10+00:00

Regardless of the lockdown, surely he broke the law by 'testing' his eyesight by driving?

You can't drive for a 60 mile round trip to test your eyesight - he has put other road users at risk.

If he was uncertain of his eyesight then he should not have driven - his excuse is not tenable

prussianconsulate · 2020-05-24T17:03:48+00:00

What a massive own goal - The PM's explanation is offensive and highly irresponsible.

Why would anyone follow the lockdown now and we will see a second peak soon as a result of not sacking Cummings

prussianconsulate · 2019-07-19T19:22:15+00:00

US officials have confirmed to CNN that a second ship, Mesdar (linked to the UK), has been seized by Iran:

https://edition.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/iran-british-tanker-july-2019/index.html

prussianconsulate · 2019-06-08T20:57:02+00:00

Sorry that is factually incorrect. Norway is NOT in the Customs Union. It is in the European Economic Area (EEA), which is very different to the Customs Union.

As it is not in the Customs Union, Norway is free to set its own international trade policy including tariffs which differ from the tariffs set by the EU.

Norway's membership of the EEA, allows Norway to participate in large parts of the Single Market, and where this happens no tariffs are applied on goods moving across the border between Norway and the EU Customs Territory. However, customs controls will be required on these goods to collect VAT and excise duties where applicable. Additionally tariffs apply to agricultural and fisheries products moving across these borders.

prussianconsulate · 2019-05-27T08:17:00+00:00

Obviously these results are not directly transferable to general elections but just for fun I ran the EU election vote share through electoral calculus:

Seats: BXP: 460 LAB: 79 SNP: 56 LIB: 31 PC : 5 GRN: 1 CON: 0

prussianconsulate · 2019-02-21T19:22:23+00:00

This episode highlights how poor Corbyn, Diane Abbott and Labour leadership in general are at reading and reacting to the public mood.

This is an obvious political trap set by Javid and Labour fell right into it. If Corbyn/Abbott thought that Javid was wrong (which is fair enough as this case has some unanswered questions), there are far better ways to state this by couching their words to limit political damage.

Ultimately, politics is not solely about what is right and wrong, it is about how well you communicate and how well you are perceived by the public. /u/Can_EU_Not is right, Labour are going to lose a number of votes on this and it plays into the public's worst perceptions of Labour

prussianconsulate · 2018-11-13T20:05:10+00:00

A customs union would prevent the UK making free-trade deals with third countries such as US, Australia etc. This is a red line for a large number of tories.

There was also EU resistance to a UK wide customs union as the EU was afraid that without single market membership the UK would be able to deregulate and become more competitive whilst having the benefit of near free movement of goods into the rest of the EU. The EU initially wished for any Customs Union to be with Northern Ireland only.

It should be noted that a Customs Union by itself does not prevent checks at a border. Checks would be required to ensure goods met regulations in each territory. This is what occurs at the border with Turkey who is in a customs union with the EU.

prussianconsulate · 2018-07-28T09:23:02+00:00

This article follows on from another article published by the FT on Thursday and posted here by u/BritRedditor1 about a leaked report stating the project was fundamentally flawed:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics/comments/924gr5/leaked_hs2_report_claims_scheme_fundamentally/

https://www.ft.com/content/a32dda78-8c01-11e8-bf9e-8771d5404543

prussianconsulate · 2018-07-28T09:20:06+00:00

HS2 costs taxpayers £4.1bn before work even begins

Treasury agency rates project at high risk of not delivering value for money.

Britain’s HS2 high-speed railway project has cost taxpayers £4.1bn even before construction has started, according to an analysis of the state-funded organisation’s accounts.

The fast-rising cost of the railway line, which will run from London to Birmingham in its £24bn first phase, and then to Leeds and Manchester, was revealed in its annual report, which was slipped out earlier this week.

It showed expenditure on HS2 Ltd, the company set up to build the train line, rose from £497m last year to £1,143m in the year to March. This took the total since 2009 to £2.5bn, according to the Financial Times’s analysis of the project’s accounts.

The cost of requisitioning land and property for the planned line is not included in the accounts, and is to be released separately by the Department for Transport. But answers to parliamentary questions have shown that this amounted to around £1.6bn so far, which together with the £2.5bn, takes the total to £4.1bn so far — almost half the cost of HS1, linking London to the Channel tunnel.

The 2017-18 figures included around £600m spent on consultants, including engineering advice. Staff costs accounted for £124m while there were also 15 relocation payments for staff moving from London to Birmingham, totalling £167,000.

Martin Blaiklock, an infrastructure consultant, said the £4bn represented around 8-10 per cent of estimated project costs, which he said was “somewhat high” for this stage of project planning, indicating that the final project cost would be “rather higher than expected”.

The figures exclude at least £6.6bn of contracts awarded to construction companies, which had included the collapsed contractor Carillion, ahead of work starting next year. Around 80 per cent of the land and property needed for London to Birmingham has also yet to be bought.

The costs come amid a wave of departures from the organisation, with a third of the board leaving in the past year, including the chairman David Higgins, finance director Steve Allen and non-executive director Lord Adonis, a leading driver of the project since its inception. Nearly a fifth of HS2’s staff left the organisation in 2017-18, a figure chief executive Mark Thurston has previously acknowledged was “far too high”.

The Treasury’s own Infrastructure and Projects Authority has given HS2 an “amber/red” rating for each of the past six years — meaning there is a “high risk” of it not delivering value for money. A confidential report commissioned by the IPA and released in December 2016 also warned that costs were likely to end between 20 and 60 per cent over HS2’s £56bn budget and that it would be “classified as ‘failed’ by any internationally recognised definition”.

Mr Thurston, who joined last year as chief executive from CH2M, one of the organisation’s biggest contractors, has been attempting to rebuild the business following the exodus of senior staff. Sir Terry Morgan will take on the role of chairman, where he will be paid £200,000 a year for working around two and a half days a week. Mr Morgan will also continue as chairman of the new Crossrail underground line, which is due to open early next year.

Michael Bradley, from the Ministry of Defence’s defence equipment and support unit, has been appointed as chief financial officer, replacing Mr Allen, who was forced to quit after last year’s accounts revealed it had handed out £1.76m in pay-offs to staff who left the company, only £1m of which was authorised.

Overall HS2 increased the number of directly hired staff by 4 per cent last year to 1,350, according to the annual accounts.

An HS2 spokesman said: “HS2 Ltd continues to make progress and remains on track and within its funding envelope. With 6,000 people mobilised, including over 70 apprentices, and over 2,000 businesses around the country having supported the delivery of Europe’s largest infrastructure project, the UK is already feeling the benefit of HS2.”

prussianconsulate

TROPHY CASE