TalkRADIO host Patrick Christys said: The EU seems to be in a bit of disarray. Emmanuel Macron said he wouldn t take the AstraZeneca vaccine, now he is going to take it. Angela Merkel said she won t take it. They can t make their minds up!
Ms Widdecombe responded: The vaccine rollout is utterly shambolic, and it s the result of two things. First thing, sheer overwhelming bureaucracy has always defined the EU, so its processes were always much longer than ours. We got on with it, we recognised we were in the middle of a national emergency. If we were still in the EU we would have been tied down by this awful vaccine programme.
| UPDATED: 09:36, Wed, Feb 10, 2021
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The European Union s Foreign Affairs chief has come under pressure following the diplomatic trip which came days after the Kremlin jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. MEPs have shared their disappointment and anger over Mr Borrell s ill-advised visit to Moscow with some going as far as to label the move a complete disaster . Despite accusations that the top diplomat had given Vladimir Putin s rogue state the upper hand in its row with the bloc, the Spanish politician insisted h
The European Commission has been widely criticised for its slow rollout of vaccination programmes (Image: GETTY)
One EU official told Ms Adler: It s like watching a car crash in slow motion. President von der Leyen is a medical doctor. She wanted to take over the mass purchase of vaccines for all the EU - as a high-profile exercise. Normally health issues are dealt with nationally. This hasn t been a great advertisement for handing over powers to Brussels. I think that s the lesson member states will take away from this.
This comes amid news that German Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold crisis talks with pharmaceutical executives, regional German leaders and European Commission officials later today.
| UPDATED: 15:33, Thu, Jan 14, 2021
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During the EU services Sub-Committee, guest Nick Collier, the Managing Director of the City of London Corporation warned the European Union of future challenges. He insisted Brussels will need to behave decisively regarding granting equivalence to the UK now the main Brexit trade deal has been struck. He noted that some European businesses looking to continue trading with Britain will likely move to Asia or US markets in order to do so.