The EU’s attempt to shift the blame over its vaccine failure has exposed it as an incompetent, angry bully

THE EU’s attempt to blame AstraZeneca, even Pfizer and the UK for its abject failure to organise vaccines has exposed its true face at last.

It is not, as they have lectured us over the last few years, a liberal and tolerant organisation — but an angry bully when things don’t go its way.

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The failings of its rigid supranational project are also clear.

After all, just as some countries in the EU last year were getting ready to strike contracts with vaccine manufacturers, the EU stopped them.

When Boris Johnson refused to join the EU’s vaccine procurement plan and decided the UK would strike its own deals, he was ridiculed.

Now that decision has ensured the UK will receive enough jabs to give two doses to everyone.

Having failed to arrange vaccine deals until months after the UK, the EU tries to blame AstraZeneca for reneging on their contract.

But AstraZeneca has become a surrogate — for the EU’s real anger was with the UK.

Just look how it lurched in blind fury to get back at the UK

Iain Duncan Smith

Note how often in briefings AstraZeneca were referred to as British, even though it is a part-Swedish company.

That’s why the EU was driven to ban exports of vaccine from the EU.

This sudden eruption of EU “nationalism” was driven by the way the UK’s successful vaccine programme highlighted the EU’s own bureaucratic incompetence.

This reveals another trait of the EU — its disregard of the needs or concerns of the smaller countries in the EU.

Just look how it lurched in blind fury to get back at the UK and invoked article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol, without even bothering to speak to the Irish.

The last-minute excuse that this was a mistake done by some lowly official is absurd. It had to have been sanctioned at the highest level.

So much for their endless demands over the last few years about the sanctity of the Northern Ireland peace process.

Finally, I wonder if underneath all of this is the EU’s desperate need to punish the UK and show that the consequences of leaving the EU are painful.

Just look at how the EU seems to encourage Nicola Sturgeon. For the EU, the break-up of the UK would be a salutary lesson to other countries.

Yet, these last few days have also shown the mistake of placing your future in the hands of the EU.

Sturgeon should see how Ireland was bypassed.

The unwelcome reality of Brexit for the Scots Nats is it’s thanks to the UK Government’s bold vaccine decision that Scotland now has all the vaccines they need to protect Scots people.

Sturgeon’s silence on that is deafening.

As we emerge from the Covid crisis, our independence from the EU gives us the capability to remake the UK on the global stage.

Now we must seize it and not look back.

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