FIVE years ago we had to choose whether we should stay in the European Union or leave it?
Along with nearly half the country, I voted to stay.
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Today I can see one big advantage of leaving. So can others — and that is making Brussels nervous.
Since the first dose before Christmas, the UK has inoculated nearly 30million people. More than double any EU country.
Germany has only jabbed a third as many. France even fewer. Others are even worse.
Low vaccine rates mean more transmission and more hospital use.
We have got a quarter the number of people in hospital as Italy, and half that of Belgium.
Out of every million Brits, 81 need in-patient care today. Two months ago, it was almost six times that.
Italy’s and Belgium’s hospital numbers have stayed stubbornly steady. More than 400 out of every million Italians and 170 out of a million Belgians are in hospital. That is bad for everyone.
Our most important trade partners are staying closed and — worst of all — it is risking another spike.
This delay isn’t down to scientists but politicians.
When people needed to trust the medics and build up community immunity, leaders in Paris and Berlin spread doubt.
First France and Germany said AstraZeneca didn’t work for the over-65s, now they agree it does.
Then they linked it to blood clots, despite their own regulator, the European Medicines Agency, saying it is safe.
GREATER DANGER
Cambridge statistician Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter said the stats were clear — the greater danger comes from delays to vaccinations. It is Covid that costs lives and vaccines stop Covid.
What’s more, the UK has used millions more doses than any other country and we have shown they are safe.
Still the hesitancy is spreading.
In France, more than 60 per cent of people think the AstraZeneca vaccine is unsafe. That’s up from around 40 per cent in February. Only around a quarter think it is safe, down from a third a month ago.
Germany is similar — 55 per cent think the AstraZeneca jab is unsafe, up 15 per cent on February. Just 32 per cent say it is safe, down 11.
This is a failure and a tragedy for our friends. And for us.
The virus doesn’t respect borders and as the Government has made clear, their third spike in cases could infect us.
We are not alone in seeing a problem and some are opting out of the collective approach.
Hungary is getting jabs from Moscow. Austria and Denmark are joining up with Israel to do their own.
They don’t want bureaucratic failure to cost lives and they are seeing what is possible this side of the Channel.
That is making the Commission nervous. And it is reacting badly.
Trying to take back control, it threatened to stop sales between Ireland and Northern Ireland, threatening the hard-won deal we had just agreed, and the peace it is meant to protect.
‘THIS ISN’T ABOUT HEALTH CARE’
As one ex-EU commissioner put it recently, Brussels is supposed to be a sheepdog, guarding its flock, but instead it is trying to be an attack dog controlling the people and its companies.
And now it is threatening deliveries to the UK. That’s not right.
For a system that says it is based on the rule of law, it should listen to Dublin.
The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, was right to say: “They’re not EU vaccines. These are vaccines paid for by other countries that are manufactured in the EU.”
And it is not like they are using them. From Copenhagen to Lisbon, they have suspended AstraZeneca’s use.
Italy is reported to have millions of doses gathering dust.
So why is EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, trying to use today and tomorrow’s EU Council to stop exports?
This isn’t about healthcare, it is about power. And she is watching it slip away.
Only time will tell how the EU rides out this storm. But one thing is clear — the nation state is back.
Borders went up across Europe when countries ran short of personal protective equipment a year ago. Free trade was suspended and governments rightly acted to look after their own country first.
They may go up again if some can vaccinate their people faster than others.
There is a race on for everyone to open their economy and excess precaution is causing prevarication and all are suffering.
IN OUR CONTROL
If the EU doesn’t start jabbing needles instead of needling the people it is supposed to serve, France’s election next year could deliver a surprise.
Particularly as we are beginning to see what freedom looks like.
The lockdown is ending in Israel, where the whole country has received a first dose.
It will soon end in the Gulf where the UAE figure is over 70 per cent.
And we are not far off.
At nearly 45 per cent, and rising fast, we can expect the dates laid out by the Prime Minister to stick.
Beer gardens on April 12, tables out of the rain on May 17, and parties by June 21 are all possible.
Only holidays abroad are still in doubt. But that is not in our control.
The Commission’s failures have never been clearer or its politics more damaging.
I’m glad we are free of its delays, but we need it to stop seeing us as rivals.
We are all partners in the war against Covid.
