As the European Commission continues to threaten blocking the supply of EU produced vaccines to the UK, it was revealed that the UK had committed £1.67billion on Covid vaccines before it was known whether they would be effective. This equates to £25.00 per person. The EU spent £1.57billion on behalf of its 27 countries, equivalent to £3.51 per person. Brussels also did not reach a deal with Pfizer until clinical trials had been concluded, while Britain had firm orders in place in July 2020. The EU placed its first order in November 2020.
Italian MEP Antonio Rinaldi said "The UK and the US spent seven times more than the EU. This is ridiculous. The EU accounts for 27 countries." He added "Look at the vaccine rollout in Britain... Johnson is miles ahead. In the EU, we will never vaccinate 600,000 people in a day. Because of this complete disaster, the EU will be the last one to leave the state of emergency."
Head of the Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, was under pressure from member states to resign as she was summoned to explain the bloc's slow vaccination progress in front of a plenary session of the European Parliament.
Italian MEP Antonio Rinaldi said "The UK and the US spent seven times more than the EU. This is ridiculous. The EU accounts for 27 countries." He added "Look at the vaccine rollout in Britain... Johnson is miles ahead. In the EU, we will never vaccinate 600,000 people in a day. Because of this complete disaster, the EU will be the last one to leave the state of emergency."
Head of the Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, was under pressure from member states to resign as she was summoned to explain the bloc's slow vaccination progress in front of a plenary session of the European Parliament.