Psamathe wrote:The problem is it's a few EU politicians that are messing up...
But is it? Or is it maybe the structures, procedures, habits and culture of the EU itself? That's a genuine question. There are 27 countries, at various stages of economic, political and social development, of very different sizes. And these 27 are supposed to have a common approach, that they all agree on. This might work in the slow development of, let's say, a trade agreement. Or a standard for electrical safety of consumer products. Or similar. But in the middle of a pandemic, with the exponential growth curves that involves? The UK government was criticised for locking down too late in March 2020. The "too late" is measured in days, or maybe a week:
https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-britain-epidemiologis-idUSL8N2DN58X
But look here, at the time the EU lost, in various ways.
https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-coronavirus-vaccine-struggle-pfizer-biontech-astrazeneca/
For some time it looked like there was some sort of ugly hybrid of vaccine procurement in the EU, a group of countries doing their own thing, and an EU process. A mess, in other words. It seems they also lost time negotiating lower prices, and, by the looks of things, arguing about indemnity.
As others have pointed out, drugs companies are now far more likely to treat the EU with caution. Hence Novavax's cautious approach here:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-eu-novavax-exclusi-idUSKBN2BH2GY
They've seen AstraZeneca's name dragged through the mud because they haven't got the vaccine out fast enough. What would you do as the CEO of Novavax? I know I wouldn't be signing any deal until I was 100% sure I could deliver. And which would be better for the citizens of the EU? 50% soon, or 100% later?
As it is, the public behaviour of some EU politicians and bureaucrats now means the drug companies may well drive harder bargains, with higher prices and better guarantees of indemnity. Well I would, the EU is starting to look like a risky place to do business, for a drugs company.
Edit: as usual, I have to state that I both voted and campaigned for Remain.