Scott Morrison claims EU blocked Australia’s COVID vaccine doses

European Commission bureaucrats behind the stalling of vaccines to Australia are also responsible for the EU’s shambolic rollout.

European Commission bureaucrats behind the stalling of millions of vaccine doses meant for Australia and Papua New Guinea are also responsible for a shambolic rollout of the jab across continental Europe, as nations outside the trade block are racing ahead towards herd immunity according to an analysis of vaccination rates seen by The Daily Telegraph.

And despite Europe’s refusal to fulfil its contracts with Australia and other nations, it is also understood that there are also millions of jabs sitting in cold storage that could be shipped to other nations including Australia almost immediately.

Italy, which recently entered a third nationwide lockdown and which was one of the countries hardest hit in the early stages of the pandemic, has only managed to jab 5.7 per cent of its population.

How Australia’s struggle with the EU over vaccines has played out.

France, which has also recently experienced a recent surge in cases, has only vaccinated 4.7 per cent of its population.

Other major EU nations such as Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands all have achieved vaccination rates ranging between four and a little over five per cent.

This is despite the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, deciding to hold back vaccines including from desperately poor nations like Papua New Guinea to keep Europeans at the front of the queue.

At the heart of the problem, say those familiar with the EC’s thinking, stems from Europe’s ongoing rivalry with the UK, which famously left the European Union after the 2015 Brexit vote, and with the ability of Britain to get jabs into arms far quicker due to the lack of bureaucracy.

In contrast to most European nations, the UK has administered at least one jab to around 56 per cent of its population, has seen cases and hospitalisations dramatically decline, and has mooted reopening international travel as soon as mid-May.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that 3.1 million vaccine doses that Australia had contracted for from Europe had never arrived, and that his government has had no response to their request that one million of those doses be urgently diverted to Papua New Guinea, where the pandemic is raging.

“If it is indeed the position of the European Union that they are happy for these export licences to be granted and their 3.8 million doses to come to Australia, then we would encourage them to do that in response to our request to ensure that we can do two things,” Mr Morrison said.

“Firstly, to provide support to our Pacific family in Papua New Guinea that are undergoing a humanitarian crisis and to support them with those one million doses, and to ensure that those contracted doses for Australia can be part of the vaccination rollout here in this country.”

The prime minister also defended the speed of the rollout, saying that the government was still working towards October as the target for getting at least one dose to every adult Australian who wanted one.

“We have our clear target and that is to get through (phases) 1A and 1B by mid-year and to have offered to Australians that first dose for adult Australians by the end of October. That’s what we’re working to. It is obviously subject to supply issues, medical evidence and medical advice,” he said.

Matthew Lesh, head of research at the London-based Adam Smith Institute said, “Britain was meant to be left behind by Brexit. Instead the European Union has been left behind by Britain’s world-leading vaccine program.

“The EU’s lacklustre vaccination program is proving the ultimate vindication of Britain leaving the European Union. It exposes exactly what Brexiteers warned about: overcentralisation, incompetent bureaucracy, and closed mindedness.

“The EU have spent years claiming to be enlightened, open and welcome. But when push comes to shove the mask has fallen off. The decision to block vaccine exports to Australia and desperately-needy PNG is a blatant case of disgraceful vaccine nationalism.

“The EU should take responsibility for their failed vaccine program rather than letting out their anger on Australia and PNG,” he said.