Covid-19: European Union takes on AstraZeneca in court over vaccine deliveries

The European Union took on vaccine producer AstraZeneca in a Brussels court on Wednesday with the urgent demand that the company needs to make an immediate delivery of Covid-19 shots the bloc insists were already due.

AstraZeneca’s contract signed with the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, on behalf of member states foresaw an initial 300 million doses for distribution among all 27 countries, with an option for a further 100 million.

The doses were expected to be delivered throughout 2021. But only 30 million were sent during the first quarter.

Deliveries have increased slightly since then but, according to the European Commission, the company is set to provide only 70 million doses in the second quarter. It had promised 180 million.

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EU lawyer Rafael Jafferali told the court that the company now expects to deliver the total number of doses by the end of December, but he added that “with a six-month delay, it’s obviously a failure.”

His main argument is that AstraZeneca should have used production sites in the bloc and the UK for EU supplies as part of a “best reasonable effort” clause in the contract.

He said that 50 million doses that should have been delivered to the EU went to third countries instead, “in violation” of their contract.

Jafferali has said that the company should use all four plants listed in their contract for deliveries to the EU.

He also accused the company of misleading the European Commission by providing data lacking clarity on the delivery delays.

“The information provided by AstraZeneca did not allow us to fully understand the situation before mid-March 2021,” he said.

The EU has insisted its gripes with the company are about deliveries only and has repeatedly said that it has no problems with the safety or quality of the vaccine itself.

The shots have been approved by the European Medicines Agency, the EU’s drug regulator.

While the bloc insists AstraZeneca has breached its contractual obligations, the company says it has fully complied with the agreement, arguing that vaccines are difficult to manufacture, and it made its best effort to deliver on time.

Lawyers for the company will address the court later Wednesday (local time).

As part of an advanced purchase agreement with vaccine companies, the EU said it invested 2.7 billion euros (NZ$4.53 billion), including 336 million euros, to finance the production of AstraZeneca’s serum at four factories.

The long-standing dispute drew media attention for weeks earlier this year amid a deadly surge of coronavirus infections in Europe, when delays in vaccine production and deliveries hampered the EU’s vaccination campaign.

Cheaper and easier to use than rival shots from Pfizer-BioNTech, the AstraZeneca vaccine developed with Oxford University was a pillar of the EU’s vaccine roll-out. But the EU’s partnership with the firm quickly deteriorated amid accusations it favoured its relationship with British authorities.

While the UK made quick progress in its vaccination campaign thanks to the AstraZeneca shots, the EU faced embarrassing complaints and criticism for its slow start.

Concerns over the pace of the roll-out across the EU grew after AstraZeneca said it couldn’t supply EU members with as many doses as originally anticipated because of production capacity limits.

The health situation has dramatically improved in Europe in recent weeks, with the number of Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths on a sharp downward trend as vaccination has picked up.

About 300 million doses of vaccine have been delivered in Europe – a region with around 450 million inhabitants, with about 245 million already administered.

About 46 per cent of the EU population have had at least one dose.

In total, the European Commission has secured more than 2.5 billion of vaccine doses with various manufacturers. It recently sealed another major order with Pfizer and BioNTech through 2023 for an additional 1.8 billion doses of their Covid-19 shot to share between the bloc’s countries.

Following Wednesday’s hearing, a second one is slated for Friday, with a judgment to be delivered at a date to be announced. In addition to the emergency action, the European Commission has launched a claim on the merits of the case for damages for which a hearing hasn’t yet been set by the court.

AP

European Parliament Condemns Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws

On April 28, 2021, the European Parliament adopted a joint motion for a resolution on the blasphemy laws in Pakistan calling for more comprehensive approaches to address the abuses of blasphemy laws in Pakistan. 

The motion refers to two specific cases, those of Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel. They are a Pakistani Christian couple convicted of blasphemy by a Pakistani court, and sentenced to death by hanging back in 2013. They are alleged to have sent a blasphemous message against the Prophet. Despite the couple being illiterate and the message being in English, the couple did not stand a chance of succeeding in their defense against the dangerous blasphemy provisions and a failed legal system. In 2014, they appealed, however, the High Court of Lahore has since postponed the trial. Both suffer from medical conditions, Shafqat Emmanuel from damage to his spinal cord and Shagufta Kausar from depression. They are not provided with any adequate medical assistance. 

Understandably, their cases are not the only ones. The Centre for Social Justice in Pakistan reports that at least 1,855 people have been charged under the blasphemy laws between 1987 and February 2021, with a significant spike in 2020. 

Blasphemy laws seek to restrict any speech that may be perceived as offensive to Prophets and holy personages. Despite a global movement to abolish blasphemy laws, many countries maintain these laws. In fact, at least thirteen countries sentence the death penalty for offenses committed in contravention of blasphemy laws. Blasphemy laws have always been problematic as they rely on the notion of causing offense, which is subjective and vague. Blasphemy laws are based on the notion of statements outraging religious feelings and representations insulting the religion or religious beliefs. Both outrage and insult are inexact concepts which create legal uncertainty and encourage an unhelpful degree of subjectivity.

Apart from being subjective in nature, what is also glaring is that despite the fact that blasphemy laws tend to apply to all religions, they are being disproportionally used against religious minorities in states where such laws exist. Public support for strict blasphemy laws in Pakistan is reportedly strong. However, it is clear that those who are calling for strict blasphemy laws are unlikely to ever have to face the charges of blasphemy. The majority of those convicted under blasphemy laws are minorities, especially Ahmadiyya and Christian minorities. The targeting of religious minorities confirms the numerous problems posed by blasphemy laws. They are not being used to prosecute genuine claims of blasphemy but are instead used to persecute religious minorities for daring to live in accordance with their religious beliefs. 

In Pakistan, blasphemy laws have often been used by groups of mobs to exact extrajudicial justice. Reports suggest that, since 1990, at least 80 people have been killed in Pakistan over claims of blasphemy. Among others, in April 2017, Mashal Khan, a Muslim student, was killed by an angry mob following allegations that he posted blasphemous content online. In 2014, a Christian couple in Kot Radha Kishan were reportedly beaten to death and burnt by a crowd of over a thousand people for allegedly desecrating the Quran. 

Furthermore, anyone who tries to help those charged with blasphemy, are also subjected to threats and violence. Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian Minister, was killed in an ambush for attempting to reform the blasphemy law. The house of Shahbaz Gurmani, a lawyer defending a university lecturer accused of blasphemy, Junaid Hafeez, was raided by gunmen on motorcycles warning him to withdraw from the case. The lawyer of Asia Bibi, Saif-ul-Mulook, had to flee the country in fear of his life.

Such attacks are also common online, particularly, on journalists, academics and civil society organizations. 

The situation did not change, as one would have hoped, with Imran Khan becoming the Prime Minister. To the contrary, reportedly, Imran Khan has been calling for the introduction of blasphemy laws in other countries. He is reported to say that “Together, we should ask Europe, the European Union and United Nations to stop hurting the feelings of 1.25 billion Muslim like they do not do in case of Jews. (…) I want the Muslim countries to devise a joint line of action over the blasphemy issue with a warning of trade boycott of countries where such incidents will happen. This will be the most effective way to achieve the goal.”  

Considering how dangerous blasphemy laws are in Pakistan, it would be a significant damage to human rights of all to have such provisions adopted in other countries, as reportedly proposed by Imran Khan. The case of Pakistan is a clear warning of the dangers of blasphemy laws.

What if the European Parliament election was held today?

It has been two years to the day since the 2019 European Parliament elections and, well … let’s say a few things have changed. But what has the economic and political upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Brexit and other factors done to Europe’s political landscape?

POLITICO’s Poll of Polls offers the only daily updated seat estimate for the European Parliament, combining national polling from all 27 member states and projecting how the seat distribution in the hemicycle would look if seats across the EU were contested today.

The biggest shift is not due to voters changing their minds, but the result of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party having left the largest group in the Parliament — the center-right European People’s Party. The EPP would remain the largest group in this hypothetical election scenario, but its lead over the Socialists & Democrats group is currently smaller than it has been at any point since the previous election. The two main groups combined would be at another historic low, according to our projection, if the election were held today.

Beyond the two main political groups, there are other shifts in the fortunes of smaller parties. A number of new groups would enter the Parliament for the first time, including the new splinter party in Slovakia, HLAS – Social Democracy, which would be likely to join S&D, giving them another four seats.

Polling suggests that the Greens — although riding a wave of success in Germany — would not be able to make significant gains in other countries. In the European Parliament 2019 election, they won 20 percent of the vote in Germany, giving them the second highest seat tally, so they have little room for improvement. The European Left-Nordic Green Left group would benefit from Sinn Féin’s increased popularity in Ireland by picking up more seats. Meanwhile, the liberal Renew Europe group would easily reclaim third place behind the EPP and S&D.

World Bank and European Union support Sri Lanka’s agriculture modernization and job creation

• World Bank and European Union support Sri Lanka’s agriculture modernization and job creation
  Tue, May 25, 2021, 07:57 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
  May 25, Colombo: Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance and the World Bank recently signed a new grant from the European Union to support the Agriculture Sector Modernization Project (ASMP), a World Bank statement said. This grant is part of the EU’s EUR 25 million support to the US$ 125 million project and will be administered by the World Bank.

Since inception in 2016, the Agriculture Sector Modernization Project has supported the Government of Sri Lanka’s efforts to increase agriculture productivity, boost the value addition of smallholder farmers and agribusinesses and to improve their access to markets. The project also supports agricultural diversification and technology improvements. The project has so far benefitted more than 48,000 smallholder farmers across the country and has created more than 1500 new jobs through investments in agribusiness organizations.

“Sri Lanka is blessed with an agricultural sector with deep historical roots, which will continue to underpin rural livelihoods and enable the country to rise to future challenges,” said Faris. H. Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. “Agriculture is important for Sri Lanka’s economy, and we continue to work with all our partners to promote inclusive and resilient growth, through increasing agricultural productivity, farmer incomes and creating jobs in the sector.”

This additional investment will help prepare Sri Lanka for COVID-19 recovery by contributing to export revenues and creating high quality jobs in agro-processing. It will also help expand opportunities for inclusive livelihood support in rural areas, and providing essential food items.

The additional grant funding from the European Union will support the expansion of agriculture clusters in five districts: Kandy (Central Province), Badulla (Uva Province), Ampara (Eastern Province), and Killinochchi and Vavuniya (Northern Province). The scale-up will contribute to a greater livelihood transformational impact and by reaching a larger number of project beneficiaries. It is expected that a total of 25,000 additional beneficiaries would be supported, including 6,000 direct members of farmer producer organizations.

“The European Union is pleased to be partnering with the World Bank and the Government of Sri Lanka to move towards a more sustainable, resilient and productive agriculture”, said Denis Chaibi, European Union Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. “By contributing to the agriculture sector modernization program we aim to support smallholder farmers, promote new farming solutions to boost productivity and create more jobs, all ultimately to be able to make a positive impact on the lives of some of the most vulnerable”.

The current World Bank portfolio in Sri Lanka consists of 19 ongoing projects, with a total commitment value of US$2.33 billion in a variety of sectors including transport, urban, agriculture, water, education, and health.

The EU has provided over EUR 1 billion in grants so far to Sri Lanka to support and accompany local efforts for recovery and reform processes in a wide range of areas including poverty reduction, democratic governance, local development, agriculture, water or health.

European Union and IFAD to support Ethiopian rural financial institutions, jobs and livelihoods in the face of the COVID-19

Rome, 24 May 2021 – The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the European Union (EU) will provide EUR26.5 million worth of liquidity and debt relief to rural financial institutions to protect jobs and safeguard livelihoods during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Ethiopia, the agriculture sector and rural people are the most impacted by the COVID-19. The pandemic has reduced agricultural labor, limited access to inputs and production capital, reduced production and productivity, and obstructed access to markets and financial services. This has led to loss of employment, reduced access to food, and increased domestic responsibilities for women.

Micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and cooperatives who play an important role in creating jobs and sustaining livelihoods in rural areas are also facing the challenges due to the pandemic.

“Today’s new project of €26.5 million to support agriculture financing in time of COVID shows our support to Ethiopia’s economic development and job creation. This EU and IFAD funding will provide new line of credits to agricultural SMEs and their farmers in the production areas of the main agro-industrial parks of the country,” said Dominique Davoux, Green Deal Team Leader, EU Delegation in Ethiopia.

The current economic slowdown requires additional support for the rural financial institutions who are most at risk, to maintain their liquidity. The Government of Ethiopia has put in place mitigation measures to deal with the impacts of the pandemic including support to the entire value chain, the MSMEs and farmers’ cooperatives.

Through the IFAD-supported Rural Financial Intermediation Programme III (RUFIP III), the government’s request to provide liquidity to MSMEs experiencing shortages will be met with assistance to enhance the resilience and sustainability of the rural financial sector. More than 1.5 million clients of these rural financial institutions will benefit.

“The COVID 19 pandemic is affecting the most vulnerable members of the community through loss of jobs and economic opportunities. As the life blood of the rural economy, MSMEs will be able to sustain their business with minimum shocks and retain employees, thanks to this assistance,” said Mawira Chitima, IFAD Representative and Country Director for Ethiopia. “IFAD is happy to cofinance this effort with the EU and the government of Ethiopia, because protecting jobs is vital for resilience and supporting the financial sector is a key strategy”.

The Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) will receive a EUR13.8 million IFAD grant and an additional EUR12.7 million EU grant to improve its liquidity and support rural financial institutions (RFIs). The financing will enable RFIs to help their MSME clients retain workers in employment, reduce the interest cost of credit, provide support to farmers facing challenges meeting their contract farming arrangements, absorb the penalty on defaulted loan repayments, and offer liquidity to partly meet the deferment of loan instalments due to DBE from the RFIs.

“This support could be key in maintaining agricultural productivity in time of uncertain national and international food markets because of COVID,” Davoux said. “The EU contribution provides for an interest rate subsidy that will reduce the costs of finance for RUFIP beneficiary enterprises affected by the COVID-19 crisis, thereby increasing their resilience to withstand the crisis and maintain employment”.

Key partners in the project will include the Federal Cooperative Agency, the Regional Cooperative Promotion Bureaus, Association of Ethiopian Microfinance Institutions and the National Bank of Ethiopia.

Since 1980, IFAD has invested US$795.5 million in 20 rural development programmes and projects in Ethiopia worth a total of US$2.1 billion. These have directly benefited around 12 million rural households.

Media contact David Florentin Paqui
Regional Communications Officer, East and Southern Africa, West and Central Africa
d.paqui@ifad.org

Linda Odhiambo
Communication Analyst
l.odhiambo@ifad.org

UK Trade With European Union Has Fallen Off a Cliff This Year – Report

The Office for National Statistics has reported a big fall in trade with the EU in the first quarter of 2021.

The Daily Mail reported that imports from and exports to the EU had fallen by 23.1 percent, compared with the first quarter of 2018.

​But trade with the rest of the world has held up much better – down just 0.8 percent in the same period.

The post-Brexit transition period ran out at the end of December 2020 so the first three months of the year was hit by all sorts of customs clearance problems for importers and exporters at Dover and Calais and other major entry and exit points.

UK/EU trade fell by 20.3 per cent between the last quarter of 2020 and January-March 2021.

The Irish border issue has also badly affected trade between the UK and the Republic of Ireland, with the value of exports down by £1billion between December 2020 and January 2021.

PM takes part in special European Council meeting

Prime Minister Robert Abela has taken part in a special European Council meeting which discussed COVID-19, climate change, the EU’s relationship with the UK and Russia.

EU leaders also discussed the situation in the Middle East and Belarus, particularly after a plane was forced to land in Minsk to arrest journalist Roman Protasevich last Sunday.

Abela told his counterparts that Malta was the first EU state to obtain herd immunity with 70% of adults getting at least a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

He said the Maltese government welcomed the new EU contract with Pfizer which stressed the importance of the union having a diversified portfolio of vaccine suppliers. The government, he said, also acknowledged the EU’s responsibility to help and assist third countries through vaccine donations.

He said Malta supported the need for a vaccine certificate as a useful tool to restart freedom of movement.

On climate change, Abela said that Malta agreed with the target to reduce 55% of emissions by 2030, and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. However, there was a need for economic, environment and social impacts of the measures proposed in each sector at national levels. Countries like Malta had very specific needs, he said. 

Abela stressed the importance for dialogue with Russia to avoid the escalation of tensions, and welcomed the ceasefire agreement in the Middle East. 

National Press Briefings Following Day Two of European Council Meeting

Sputnik is live from Brussels, Belgium, where European leaders are holding national press briefings after the second session of the European Council. The agenda includes the coordination of the EU’s response to COVID-19 and its fight against climate change.

The first day of the gathering focussed on the EU’s reaction to the Ryanair incident. EU leaders condemned the flight’s forced landing in Minsk and called for an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) probe into the incident. The bloc also urged for tougher sanctions and bans on Belarusian carrier flights in the EU. In addition, European politicians held a strategic debate on Russia, concluding that Moscow carried out activities against the EU, its member states, and others.

Join Sputnik’s live feed to find out more! 

UK doing more goods trade with non-EU states that with EU after Brexit and Covid economic slump

EU-UK goods trade has been battered by Brexit and the Covid pandemic to the point where it has been overtaken by trade with non-EU member states, official statistics showed today.

The Office for National Statistics found that imports and exports with the bloc fell 23.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, compared with the same time in 2018. 

In contrast trade with non-EU states fell by just 0.8 per cent in the same period, chosen because 2018 was the last time trade was unaffected by either Brexit negotiations turmoil or the global health crisis.

The data released by the ONS today shows a clear relationship between trade slumps and the two major events, with a marked cliff-edge for EU trade after the UK left in January. 

The severance led to major problems at the main ports of Dover and Calais as both sides tried to get to grips with the new arrangements. 

UK/EU goods trade fell by 20.3 per cent between the last quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of this year, the ONS said.

This was either side of the end of transition but also in a period when the UK was in the third lockdown. 

Trade with Ireland was the largest victim, the ONS said. The value of exports fell by £1billion – or 47.3 per cent – between December 2020 and January 2021 before recovering.

The ONS said its Business Impacts of Covid Survey (BICS) found that ‘of currently trading businesses that have reported challenges at the end of February 2021, the largest proportion of businesses’ reported main cause of challenge was the end of the EU transition period’. 

‘This has risen from mid-December 2020. In contrast, those reporting the coronavirus as their main challenge fell over the same period,’ it added.

‘While this evidence does not provide a causal link between the end of the EU transition period and the decrease in total trade observed in the first quarter of 2021, it does provide insight into whether traders are experiencing more challenge with the coronavirus or the end of the transition period, and how these have changed over time.’

The report also noted: ‘The continued global impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, combined with uncertainty surrounding the effect of EU exit have contributed to increased volatility in UK trade in goods across 2020 and into early 2021. 

‘It is difficult to fully detangle the impact the coronavirus and EU exit had on UK and international trade while they are still having an influence. 

‘We therefore compare with 2018 data for longer-term comparisons as the most recent period in which relatively stable trade patterns were observed.’

Concerns over European Union in Oxford EU-wide survey

Just two in ten older Europeans think the EU has handled the COVID-19 vaccine programme well, according to an eupinions poll conducted for an Oxford research team led by Professor Timothy Garton Ash.

According to the report, Europe Today and Tomorrow: What Europeans Want, based on a March 2021 poll of 13,601 people, conducted in the 27 member states and the UK, it provides ‘mixed reading’ for the EU. It states, ‘Respondents generally support greater integration of the Union and are in favour of the EU taking action on issues such as employment and economic redistribution.’

45% of those surveyed say they believe the vaccine roll out has been handled badly and only 25% say it has been handled well. But…more than half of those aged 50-69 say it has been fairly or very badly handled

In total, 45% of those surveyed say they believe the vaccine roll out has been handled badly and only 25% say it has been handled well. But concerns increase in line with age and more than half of those aged 50-69 say it has been fairly or very badly handled.

The report states, ‘There is clear dissatisfaction with the EU’s distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and many respondents agree that freedom of movement has brought more costs than benefits for their country.’

Some 44% of those surveyed, report not having personally benefited from freedom of movement. And 37% of all those surveyed say it has brought more costs than benefits for their country, with just 32% disagreeing. But there were wide national differences, with almost half of French respondents thinking that freedom of movement has had more costs than benefits.  This compared with 40% in Germany, 39% in the Netherlands and just 28% of respondents from Poland. The report comments, ‘Perhaps not a surprising finding, given so many Poles have benefitted from free movement.’

Seven in ten say they identify as Europeans (as well as having other identities). But here again national differences are revealed, with some 86% of Polish and 84% of Spanish agreeing with this, compared with 60% of French and 63% of Italians.

More than 60% thought the EU should take more decisions about employment and social protection because of the threat posed by automation to jobs

Participants were also asked if taxpayers in richer states should contribute more to the EU budget than currently – ‘to ensure a minimum standards of living across all member states’. Some 66% of Spanish support such measures, while 40% of Germans back more taxes.  But more than 60% thought the EU should take more decisions about employment and social protection because of the threat posed by automation to jobs.

Although there was significant support for greater integration, with 28% backing this, there was just 13% support for a single European government. This was only slightly ahead of the percentage who said the EU should no longer exist. But more over 50s thought it should no longer exist compared with the number who thought there should be a single government.  As with many questions, French respondents were more hardline – with 15% saying they would like the EU no longer to exist.

Although there was significant support for greater integration, with 28% backing this, there was just 13% support for a single European government

Meanwhile, the top priority for new border guards, according to those survey, should be to, ‘Prevent unlawful entry to the EU.

’The second priority should be to fight cross border crime and terrorism and just 12% of older respondents thought new border guards should ensure the safety of those attempting to enter the EU.

This is the fourth in a series of eupinions polls conducted for the Europe’s Stories project of the Dahrendorf Programme, based at the European Studies Centre at St Antony’s College, Oxford.

An interim report, with recommendations to the EU written by young Europeans based at Oxford, will be published later this year.

U.K. trade with the European Union plunges in first quarter after Brexit

Trade with the European Union plunged in the first quarter after the U.K. exited the customs bloc, according to data released on Tuesday.

The Office for National Statistics reported that U.K. exports in goods contracted by 18% with the European Union, and that imports collapsed by 22%. U.K. trade with the rest of the world was little changed, with exports edging up 0.4% while imports fell 0.9%.

EU Leaders Hold Press Conference After European Council Meeting

Sputnik is live from Brussels, Belgium, where members of the European Council are holding a press conference following the first day of their two-day meeting, which is scheduled to take place on 24 and 25 May. 

The Monday meeting was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. local time (17:30 GMT). It is expected to be focused on the European Union’s foreign relations, specifically with Russia and the UK, but also migration, the Middle East and the upcoming EU-US Summit.

Previously, President of the European Council Charles Michel called for an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) probe into th emergency landing of a Ryanair passenger plane at Minsk Airport over a bomb threat that later turned out to be fake. Michel also called on Belarus authorities to immediately release the flight and all its passengers before the plane successfully took off Minsk. 

Michel and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are expected to deliver joint press conferences at the end of meetings on both days.

Check out Sputnik’s live feed to find out more.

EU Asks All EU-Based Airlines To Avoid Belarusian Airspace After Forced Landing

Alert: European Union leaders agree on new sanctions against Belarus, including ban on use of EU airspace, airports