Juncker stated that the EU has been too cautious in its approach to vaccine procurement, and stated that the Union should seize the “stupid vaccine war” with the UK. The former President of the European Commission - and Prime Minister of Luxembourg - further noted that he was “not a fan” of the mechanism by which the union has stopped vaccine shipments, and unfavourably compared the EU’s roll-out of vaccines to that of the UK.
Warning of reputational damage, Juncker said that he thinks “we have to pull back from a vaccine war,” and stressed the fact that there is “room for dialogue,” while noting that “nobody in Britain, nobody in Europe, understands why we are witnessing ... a stupid vaccine war,” concluding that “we are not enemies - we are allies.”
Brussels has tightened export controls after the British-Swedish vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca failed to deliver the doses it had promised to the bloc.
In comparing the relatively more successful vaccine roll-out in Britain to that of the EU, Juncker emphasised that “Britain took the decision to have an emergency decision-based approach, whereas the European Union ... were more budget conscious.” The EU, he said, “didn’t shoot for the stars” and were “wrong to lack ambition.”
As for placing blame, Juncker was asked whether he thought his success, Ursula von der Leyen, should resign, to which he responded that “these are not failures of the commission These are failures of the member states in total, and so I don’t think that the getting rid of Mrs Von der Leyen would be helpful.” Indeed, he thought doing so would if anything prolong the delays we are seeing, while noting that “it is too easy to put all the responsibility on the shoulders of the commission and Mrs Von der Leyen.”
