Political relations between UK-EU

[meltonblue]

Chatting to some mates who are lawyers. the issues here isn't that the contract states that the supply can come form the UK, it can, AZ has said as much in there interview the other day. that is a non point.

The issue is that AZ cannot redirect a supply that has already been contracted for. Currently the UK plant is making enough to supply the UK contract only, there is no excess supply yet. the second that plant has fulfilled the UK order then the contract is completed and the supply can get diverted to the EU.

the argument then comes down to Can the EU contract overrule the UK contract, clearly it cannot.

Agree with all of that. That last point, I didn’t even think of as an argument tbh as it clearly can’t as you say. I haven’t seen anyone suggesting it should.

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

For real, if you order 10 tons of cement and I order 3, but I order mine and pay 3 months before you do, and mine arrives and yours doesn’t, when there’s a supply issue, it’s not my fault is it?

No and it’s not the UK governments fault either. Nobody is saying it is.

 

[BobKowalski]

According to a lawyer in the relevant field on the radio, this comes down to the fact the British Government gambled and got production facilities up and running while the EU messed about , if the UK government had not gambled then we’d be in the same position as the EU , so the lawyer suggested they had no claim over the supply in the UK by the fact that this stock would not have existed but for the actions of the UK government. He suggested the question in a courtroom towards the EU is why they did not get production facilities up and running and the fact they knew about the orders the UK government had placed but still delayed.

That’s just narrative from one side, just as it’s narrative from the other. This isn’t going to be a court case, nor can any Govt or bloc compel the UK to relinquish supplies it is producing.

This is politics with the EU and AZ spinning their respective sides of the argument. It’s PR and arse covering.

The only solution is to crack on and produce the vaccines. The rest is just noise.

 

[meltonblue]

According to a lawyer in the relevant field on the radio, this comes down to the fact the British Government gambled and got production facilities up and running while the EU messed about , if the UK government had not gambled then we’d be in the same position as the EU , so the lawyer suggested they had no claim over the supply in the UK by the fact that this stock would not have existed but for the actions of the UK government. He suggested the question in a courtroom towards the EU is why they did not get production facilities up and running and the fact they knew about the orders the UK government had placed but still delayed.

I’d be interested to know who that lawyer was! There’s a lot wrong with that but the main one that sticks out is why on earth would a courtroom ask the EU why they didn’t get production facilities up and running?!

 

[carlosthejackal]

I’d be interested to know who that lawyer was! There’s a lot wrong with that but the main one that sticks out is why on earth would a courtroom ask the EU why they didn’t get production facilities up and running?!

No idea who he was , only quoting him , like you that part did seem more a personal view than anything relevant , not had much time for this Government during this whole sad event but they deserve praise for being ahead of the curve on this .

 

[meltonblue]

No idea who he was , only quoting him , like you that part did seem more a personal view than anything relevant , not had much time for this Government during this whole sad event but they deserve praise for being ahead of the curve on this .

Yep I agree

 

[Vic]

Well if that was in the public domain last May and the EU signed their contract with AZ in August then surely they don’t have a leg to stand on. Due diligence and all that

We've not seen the UK contract. The priority might have been for the first 100 doses. Even if it were more, AZ has still warranted that no other contract would prevent the EU getting its share.

 

[Nightmare Walking]

The EU have not shut up, while the British government have left them all to it. That speaks volumes really. The British government must be confident of their position.

The EU are flailing about desperately. That is not a good look. They may have got the better end of the trade deal with the UK (I have no idea regarding the intricacies of the deal), but it's citizens will not care. Covid directly affects their health and lives. Most of the continent will not give a toss that French fishermen can work in UK waters. Now their lives are in danger, the EU citizens will be looking at how much better the UK has dealt with the vaccine procurement and roll out. This is bad news for the EU, especially in Eurosceptic nations. Now the EU are confounding their issues by making fools of themselves publically.

The UK just needs to keep its nose clean and get on with vaccinating it's citizens. If the EU stop acting like children, maybe they could all get round a table and try to help each other. Unfortunately, in the world of political point scoring, I doubt that will be possible.

 

[Vic]

Thanks. I do remember that now. So its the 30m that are prioritised for the UK because of the early investment and decision making. Its hard to see how the EU can lay claim to any vaccine manufactured anywhere that is included in that 30m consignment then.

It doesn't say all 30m is going to the UK.

 

[Vic]

German newspaper Bild being quite complimentary about Brexit Boris and sycophant in chief Katya Adler being highly critical of the EU. Seems that the gaslighting by the EU isn’t working. Maybe they should cut the twattishness and come to an agreement so we can help them out of the hole they’re in? Nobody wants to see EU citizens suffer due to their incompetence.

From comments like "you hate your country" (for arguing that EU citizens should get a fair share of the vaccines they'd paid for) I took it that some do want EU citizens to suffer (if it means some UK citizens don't get vaccines as quickly).