EU and UK vow to work together – shock
The UK and EU have issued a joint statement of cooperation this evening, pledging to “create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all our citizens” amid a spiralling vaccine export row.
The statement is largely symbolic, but is intended to show good faith and a willingness to talk on both sides: “We are all facing the same pandemic and the third wave makes cooperation between the EU and UK even more important. We have been discussing what more we can do to ensure a reciprocally beneficial relationship between the UK and EU on Covid-19.”
It comes after the European Commission set out plans to widen the criteria for restricting the export of jabs manufactured on EU soil.
At a press conference in Brussels, Vice-President Valdis Dombrovkis said that officials would use a “vaccine transparency mechanism” to decide whether supplies can leave the bloc, taking account of the infection and vaccination rates in the countries for which vaccines are destined. The Commission hasn’t given any details of what the exact formula will be.
The EU has said that the plan doesn’t amount to a de-facto export ban and does not target the UK. In practice, it does – in virtue of the UK’s plunging death and infection numbers and motoring rollout.
Earlier today, Boris Johnson warned the EU that Big Pharma would look to invest elsewhere if the bloc goes ahead with its “arbitrary blockade” on vaccines. The PM also refused to rule out UK retaliation.
The Commission’s threats have exposed serious divisions within the bloc, with leaders fearing a ban could spark a global vaccine war. Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin warned that a ban would be a “very retrograde step”. Belgium, Finland, Poland and the Netherlands have also expressed serious misgivings about the Commission’s plans.
Crucially, Angela Merkel has also criticised the proposed ban, warning the EU to be “very careful” because disrupting complex international supply chains is risky business. It’s been a terrible 24 hours for Merkel who made a hand-brake U-turn today on the decision to put Germany under a strict Easter lockdown. She made an abject and very personal apology to the German people for doing so. Steffen Grimberg has more below.
Backlash at asylum overhaul
Priti Patel has clashed with refugee groups, immigration lawyers and opposition politicians over plans to introduce a two-tier system to tackle illegal immigration.
Under the new plans, asylum seekers who arrive in the UK via small boats or other illegal routes would be indefinitely liable for removal, whereas those who arrive through organised, sponsored routes would have their refugee claims considered promptly and be given support to settle.
Mike Adamson, Chief Executive of the British Red Cross, branded the changes “inhumane”, while Refugee Action’s Tim Naor Hilton called the plans “hard-hearted and cruel”. Patel has also come under fire for not securing agreements with any European countries to return migrants deemed “inadmissible” under the new plans.
Marley Morris, who leads the think tank IPPR’s work on migration, said there is a risk that the proposals break international law. He pointed to Article 31 of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which states that parties “shall not impose penalties” on refugees on account of their illegal entry or presence, provided they have good cause and present themselves to the authorities without delay.
Hitting back at her critics, Patel insisted that her proposals were in line with the convention, international law and the European convention on human rights.
She said: “I think many of those organisations should think carefully about our proposals and also the type of language they themselves use because we want to save lives and we want to work with partnership organisations in developing safe and legal routes.”
Bernie goes into bat for The Donald
Donald Trump, who’s been starved of a steady diet of likes and retweets since he was kicked off Twitter in January, may have found an unexpected ally – Bernie Sanders.
Maybe that’s going a bit far. In an interview with Ezra Klein in The New York Times, Sanders called Trump “a racist, a sexist, a xenophobe, a pathological liar, an authoritarian”. But Sanders also said he was worried about the effect of Trump’s Twitter ban on free speech. “Yesterday it was Donald Trump who was banned, and tomorrow, it could be somebody else who has a very different point of view. I don’t like giving that much power to a handful of high-tech people.”
It is an even-handed assessment and it’s a shame other prominent voices on both sides of the political spectrum don’t share Sanders’ concerns.
Still, in an odd way Twitter might have done Trump a favour. True, he can’t dominate the headlines by Tweet like he used to, but according to interviews given by aides, the ex-president has been happier and more relaxed since he got off Twitter. With social media detox becoming a bit of a trend, might we be in for a Trump press release explaining that, after having had time to step back and reflect, he’s realised how much his use of social media warped him and apologising to anyone he might have hurt or offended?
Maybe not. In fact, rumours are circulating that Trump is thinking about launching his own news and social media app. There’ll be plenty more to come from the Twit-in-chief.
Mattie Brignal,
News Editor