A bitter marriage of convenience
Despite Thierry Breton’s prophecy that the “EU would reach continent-wide immunity by July 14” – just in time to celebrate Bastille Day – the EU’s average vaccination rate continues to lag behind.
Over 48% of the UK population have received their first dose, whereas the average across the European Union is below 15%. Charles Michel issued a similarly naive statement where he claimed that “the fight against COVID-19 is not a sprint: it’s a marathon in which Europe is well placed to lead.” However, slow and steady does not always win the race. This is especially when the sluggish vaccination rollout results in thousands of unnecessary deaths, a third wave and a third lockdown with businesses struggling to cope.
Their sense of optimism was doubtlessly meant to sound inspiring, but instead came off as out of touch with reality. Even worse, Brussels has refused to take responsibility and instead is using the United Kingdom and AstraZeneca as a scapegoat, when the contracts with the pharmaceutical company were simply poorly negotiated. The European Commission was more interested in lowering the price of an already cheap vaccine and ensuring greater liability, while being very vague on deadlines and punishment clauses. In contrast, the UK has not only funded the development of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but also agreed to pay a higher price, approved the vaccine in record time and signed their agreement three months prior in order to ensure that they would receive their doses on time.
Instead of trying to find an amicable arrangement, the EU went on a petty smear campaign of AstraZeneca and Ursula von der Leyen threatened to impose a vaccine export ban and a hard border in Ireland – without even warning the Irish prime minister. Despite the risks of novel coronavirus mutations, the von der Leyen variant is causing the most damage within the EU.
The EU had already failed to unite at the start of the pandemic. This was particularly evident with every member unilaterally shutting their borders and stealing personal protection equipment from one another.
However, the joint procurement program was supposed to be a clear victory for the European ideal. It was meant to highlight the benefits of cooperation and showing that solidarity would prevail and make us stronger after all.
Yet now, the member states of the European Union are left envying the vaccine nationalism of Israel, the UK or the US and frustrated with Brussels stinginess and excessive bureaucracy. Even Serbia is outperforming every member of the EU in terms of vaccinations.
As a result, almost all members are straying away from the joint procurement program; they leave to negotiate separate deals in order to ensure the vaccination of their own population. So much for European solidarity. This represents a window of opportunity for Russia and China to use their vaccine diplomacy to divide the EU and expand their sphere of influence. Furthermore, the mishandling of the pandemic and the economic ramifications of a year of lockdowns and restrictions emboldens the populists with anti-EU rhetoric, as is already the case in Spain, Italy, France and Germany.
But the vaccine fiasco – while embarrassing – will by no means cause the downfall of the EU, but it is a symptom of a much graver problem. There is no common foreign policy, identity or values. It’s an ambitious vision that lacks substance and leadership.
The President of the European Council has the charisma of a high school principal and while the President of the European Commission is at least not afraid to take decisions, her capricious attitude over the past months has undermined the credibility of the EU. Josep Borrell is meant to represent the bloc’s foreign policy and yet he’s mainly remembered for his humiliation in Moscow – where he looked more like a pupil getting scolded for forgetting his homework.
Even on topics that directly affect the security and sovereignty of the EU, such as Turkey’s expansionist agenda in the East Med, their response is to turn to the US for leadership and issue stern warnings that lead nowhere. Brussels has even been unable to adopt a harsher stance against Erdogan’s contemptuous attitude in “Sofagate,” which marks yet another humiliation for the EU. Ultimately, the European Union has become a bitter marriage of convenience that disappointingly falls short of its potential.
The writer is a French political consultant and the director of international relations at the Paris-based think tank Center of Political and Foreign Affairs (CPFA).