LONDON (Reuters) – Britain is confident its COVID-19 vaccination program is safe after receiving assurances from the European Union, the Commerce Secretary said Sunday in an attempt to iron out a supply dispute .
Just a month after Britain completed its departure from the bloc, ties with Brussels were severely tested on Friday when the EU’s plan for export controls on vaccines triggered an emergency clause in the earlier Brexit deals.
The move, which was quickly reversed, united British politicians in criticism of the threat from the EU to create a hard border they have long wanted to avoid between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.
“We know that delivery is safe, we are confident that we can continue to deliver our program. We have been assured by the European Union that those contracts will not be disrupted, ”Liz Truss told Sky News.
With the dispute suggesting that Brexit is still causing mistrust between the two sides, Truss said she was glad the EU admitted its “mistake”.
She added emphatically, “It is vital that we work together, it is vital that we keep borders open, we oppose vaccination nationalism and we oppose protectionism.”
‘HELP OTHERS’
Truss did not rule out surplus supply to other countries, but only after Britain inoculated its population.
“In fact, in the coming months we hope to be able to help other countries with vaccination, including our friends and neighbors, as well as the developing world,” she told Times Radio.
The EU has fallen far behind Great Britain and the United States in terms of vaccinations. It announced on Friday that it would impose export controls on vaccines, which are widely seen as a threat to prevent doses being sent to Britain.
But it was forced to reverse part of the announcement within hours, after both Great Britain and Ireland complained of plans to impose emergency controls on vaccine exports across the land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that lessons should be learned from the feud, which he said arose from a dispute between the European Commission and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.
“My observation is that the terrible fight – it is a bitter fight between AstraZeneca and the Commission over the company’s contractual obligations in relation to the supply of vaccines to European member states – was central here,” he said.
“I think there was a shock across Europe when (there was) the company’s original commitment in terms of 100 million doses, (when) it turned out that it wouldn’t be realized and that caused a lot of tension.”
Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Adaptation by Catherine Evans and Andrew Cawthorne