Ursula von der Leyen today issued a grovelling apology for the EU’s vaccine shambles, admitting the bloc acted ‘late’ and was ‘over-confident’ Ursula von der Leyen today issued a grovelling apology for the EU’s vaccine shambles, admitting the bloc acted ‘late’ and was ‘over-confident’. The European commission president also conceded its rollout was still not … Read more
Marks & Spencer SHUTS one of its 20 branches in Paris after weeks of Brexit-related food shortages Marks & Spencer store in Chaussée d’Antin branch, Paris, has shut its doors Stores in France have seen delays of fresh food imports from UK due to Brexit The company has said that the closure is not related … Read more
EU’s South Africa covid-variant hotspot Tyrol has gone into lockdown, with no one allowed to leave the Austrian region without a negative coronavirus test. Austria’s leader announced the measure on Tuesday as authorities try to prevent the spread of a coronavirus variant first discovered in South Africa. Some 293 cases of the more contagious variant … Read more
Ursula von der Leyen has taken a barbed swipe at Boris Johnson over his ‘space race’ approach to vaccines as she faces a huge backlash over the EU shambles. The European Commission president complained that some countries saw the drive to inoculate populations as a Cold War style ‘confrontation’. The comments, as she addressed students attending … Read more
British exports to the EU ‘plummeted by 68 per cent in January’ as post-Brexit paperwork and coronavirus crisis wreaked havoc at UK ports Trade deal between the UK and the EU came into force on January 1 of this year New checks and paperwork have caused significant disruption, slowing exports Road Haulage Association survey shows … Read more
Ursula von der Leyen accidentally made the case for Brexit while apologising to Europe for the slow pace of her vaccine roll-out today – admitting that solo countries will be quicker at getting things done. Attempting to justify why the EU signed deals for Covid vaccines weeks or months after the UK, she said on … Read more
Boris Johnson today promised Arlene Foster the UK Government will ‘do everything we can’ to make trade to Northern Ireland smoother as he demanded the EU take ‘urgent action’ to relax checks on goods. The PM spoke to the First Minister of Northern Ireland this morning amid a worsening row over post-Brexit customs checks which … Read more
Michael Gove is set to hold crisis talks with Brussels today in a bid to defuse growing tensions in Northern Ireland in the wake of last week’s vaccine exports fiasco. The Minister for the Cabinet Office is expected to call for post-Brexit trading arrangements between Britain and Northern Ireland to be relaxed. It comes after … Read more
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said ‘all vaccines are welcome’ today as she praised Russia’s Sputnik V jab. ‘Every vaccine is welcome in the European Union,’ Merkel said in an interview with German broadcaster ARD. ‘Today we have read good data for the Russian vaccine too’. Merkel also told ARD she had recently spoken to Russian … Read more
The UK could send spare coronavirus vaccines to Ireland after the EU humiliatingly backed down in the bitter row over threat to British supplies. The success of the drive to secure jabs could mean that by the summer stocks can be shared with other countries – as Boris Johnson warned the pandemic cannot be tackled … Read more