How von der Leyen’s EU Commission got its Covid-19 priorities all wrong

If the EU hadn’t used Covid to pose as a global power, could it have got vaccines sooner?

© Facts4EU.Org 2021

Brexit Facts4EU.Org report on how EU’s posturing on world stage usurped interests of EU citizens

Despite the EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, declaring that its vaccine programme is a success and has delivered, almost no-one in the 27 EU country capitals genuinely agrees with this.

In today’s report, Facts4EU.Org presents its analysis of the EU Commission’s obsession with using the Covid crisis to posture on the world stage, sending EU taxpayers’ money, vaccines and materials abroad, whilst failing to get a grip on providing vaccines for its own citizens.

Timeline – EU Commission’s global posturing and largesse

Below is an exclusive Facts4EU.Org summary of some of the initiatives which have been pre-occupying Frau von der Leyen and her colleagues at the EU Commission since the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus early last year.

We have only listed the activities which have a clear financial cost. There were many more. In amongst all of this there were numerous ‘global summits’, new fora, and a variety of ‘initiatives’ which were planned and announced by the Commission.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

EU Commission's global manoeuvres, Feb 2020-Jun 2021

Date
Countries benefiting
Description
Amount
(£ million)
23/02/2020
China
Co-financed delivery of more than 25 tonnes of personal protective equipment to China
Unspecified
24/02/2020
WHO
To support the World Health Organisation for its global preparedness and response global plan
£114
24/02/2020
Africa - Senegal and various
Institute Pasteur Dakar, rapid diagnosis and epidemiological surveillance
£15
30/03/2020
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine
To help mitigate the socio-economic impact of the coronavirus crisis
£840
30/03/2020
Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia
Immediate health needs plus help in the socio-economic recovery of the region
£412
31/03/2020
Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon
Support for refugees due to Covid
£240
29/04/2020
Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia
Immediate health and resulting humanitarian needs of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as help with the social and economic recovery
£3,000
08/05/2020
African countries
EU Humanitarian Air Bridge to transport humanitarian workers and emergency supplies
Unspecified
14/05/2020
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia
General Covid assistance
£106
20/05/2020
Sahel and Lake Chad region, Central African Republic, the Great Lakes region in Africa, Eastern Africa, Syria, Yemen, Palestine and Venezuela, and Rohingya
General Covid assistance
£50
28/05/2020
Global
Set-up of new campaign with 'Global Citizen' group
Unspecified
18/06/2020
Central African Republic and Horn of Africa
To limit socio-economic risks of the pandemic
£114
27/06/2020
Global
The ‘Global Goal: Unite for our Future' pledging summit organised by Global Citizen
£4,900
14/07/2020
Uganda
General Covid assistance
£25
20/07/2020
Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
General Covid assistance
£64
11/09/2020
Latin America and the Caribbean
General Covid assistance
£31
20/11/2020
Ghana
General Covid assistance
£87
28/12/2020
Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia
Funding vaccines
£70
19/02/2021
Global
EU funding of 'COVAX' for low and middle-income countries
£1,000
27/03/2021
Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia
Supply of vaccines and medical items
Unspecified
20/04/2021
Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia
Supply of vaccines
£70
27/04/2021
India
Supply of oxygen, medicine and equipment
Unspecified
21/05/2021
Africa
Set-up of manufacturing and access to vaccines, medicines and health technologies in Africa
£1,000
TOTAL
£12,137m

Table © Facts4EU.Org 2021

Note: Whilst we have totalled the amounts in the table above, it is perfectly possible that some individual items have been aggregated in other larger items. The EU Commission has an irritating habit of announcing the same thing, in different ways, on several occasions and grouping them in different ways. Our advice is not to take the total amount as being definitive.

Observations

The EU superpower wannabes' motives

Trawling through the enormous propaganda output of the EU Commission since the outbreak of Covid-19, it is hard not to draw the conclusion that Frau von der Leyen and her colleagues saw the Covid crisis as an opportunity.

Firstly they used this opportunity to promote “Europe” (meaning the European Union) as a global power – benefactors and world leaders in a glorious “we’re all in this together” movement.

Secondly, they were able to use the crisis in June last year to persuade the EU27 to let them take over the vaccine procurement and supply programme to the exclusion of the EU’s nation states. Previously, national health issues like this had not been in the EU Commission’s remit.

How does this affect the United Kingdom - we're out, aren't we?

Whenever we produce reports such as this, Remainers on social media trot out the same old refrain: "We're out so what do you care?" They prefer to avoid the facts we present, of course, or state that they are 'fake news' despite them coming from our research of official EU information.

In this case, our report is highly relevant to UK voters. Until 31 December 2020 the UK was still liable for its share of monies spent by the EU.

Questions for the EU

One of the key questions must surely be whether the Commission’s pre-occupation with becoming some form of global charity and superpower diverted its attention away from what should have been its priority – its own citizens and their well-being.

Perhaps if they had focused more on matters closer to home, the EU’s vaccines performance would not have been as dire as it has been.

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[ Sources: EU Commission ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 14 Jul 2021

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