The Total Failure of EU Leadership

When even the EU-friendly Times is criticising the EU leadership for failing to lead, you know something is seriously wrong. And how different from the start of the pandemic when it was Boris Johnson under fire for failing to get a grip on the pandemic, not locking down soon enough, not restricting travel etc. And despite all of the liberal policies the UK still has one of the worst economic pandemic outcomes and deaths in the world.

But times have moved on and once it became clear that vaccines from Pfizer and the joint Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines were going to work and work well, the British government ordered a boatload of it and started to organise the vaccine distribution early on.

The EU Vaccine Response Lacks Clarity

In the EU, the leaders decided to follow the EMA's advice before ordering. Delays in approval and delays in ordering because they wanted a better price, let to the commission bungling the acquisition of vaccine stock. Of course, since the EU technocrats can do no wrong, the blame fell on Astra Zeneca for not delivering the impossible demands. Since the UK had ordered first, the UK-based production was well underway and had overcome the teething problems. The EU production facilities were nowhere near ready.

Then came the most shameful invoking of article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol in order to prevent vaccines from crossing the border – effectively creating a hard border on the island of Ireland – something specifically prohibited by the Good Friday Agreement. We're now 2 months on and the repercussions of that mentally retarded decision are still being felt, and have not yet reached critical mass.

The latest bizarre twist is that several EU governments along with a few others have now banned the AstraZeneca vaccine because of blood clots after casting doubt – now rescinded – about its effectiveness in over-65s. The fact that literally any idiot can figure out that the incidence of blood clots is completely in line with the historical occurrence is neither here nor there – never mind that the EU is facing a third wave and the death toll is likely to spike again. The UK has proven that it is effective and has now vaccinated 11M people.

EU Leaders try to Lighten the Mood with a spot of Comedy

But it doesn't stop there… oh no. For the added comedy effect, the French government, having banned the vaccine, is now poised to take AstraZeneca to court for not delivering it “on time” – something the contract doesn't promise. But, my French and Italian friends, be comforted. Macron and Draghi had a call about clot-gate and have decided to act in unison. If the EMA gives a positive verdict tomorrow, then both will “abide by its decision”.

So let me get this straight: Not only is Macron and Draghi refusing to take responsibility and make a decision, but they had a call to coordinate a joint decision – presumably so that neither of them will be blamed if things go wrong! Such a staggering lack of leadership must surely be punished at the polls – or at least one would hope.

Given that AstraZeneca is producing this vaccine at cost and that Pfizer is raking in the $$$, I feel that all this EU faux-outrage is somewhat misplaced. Oh, and I haven't even started on Charles Michel – the EU nonentity who has retroactively blamed the UK for the EU botched handling of the vaccine programme.

The UK Forges Ahead!

In the end, though, despite a rocky start, Boris Johnson is coming out of this smelling like roses. Parliamentary business has already moved on and both defence and policing are now the order of the day. The British economy is already picking up due to the positive vaccine programme and general optimism, whilst the EU faces a summer of misery and further restrictions – possibly another full lockdown. And if the vaccine programme still hasn't completed by next September, a fourth wave is in the offing.

France & Germany are facing elections this year or next. It will be interesting to see how they pan out, but I fear for the crop of wet blankets currently leading those countries. The question is, who will succeed them? The far-right in the form of the National Front and the AfD are just waiting in the wings. Now that would be a bit of a disaster.

But is EU petulance partly due to the successful completion of Brexit?

I know there are still Remoaners who are secretly hoping for a disaster, the likelihood of the UK emerging quickly out of the pandemic has EU leaders panicking. As I mentioned in my last post, all of this EU pettiness is to make sure the Brexit aftermath is a failure. What is actually being shown is that nation states and local targeted government can be more agile than a great big lumbering technocracy. And that is what EU voters will be seeing.

EU leaders have not, on the whole, reacted well to either Brexit or the immediate problem of the Covid pandemic. Remains to be seen whether they can better handle the emerging sovereign debt crisis. If not, ICU availability statistics will be the least of their worries.