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This is now the legal position in the EU under Friday’s emergency ruling from the Commission: all vaccine exports are barred without prior approval: “Without the production of a valid export authorisation,” the regulation states, “The exportation of such goods is prohibited.”
Of course how Ireland is going to do this without a border with Northern Ireland will be a fascinating exercise in alternative arrangements.
Bomedical companies must request export authorization in the EU country where the vaccine is produced. But that’s no mean feat for a serum that may combine ingredients from different countries, bottled in another, labeled in a fourth, and shipped out from an airport in a fifth.
n addition to forcing manufacturers to apply for export authorization for new shipments, the regulation requires companies to submit details of any vaccine shipments in the past three months — even though EU countries should already have customs records documenting them.
In Germany, a customs spokesman said: “The EU regulation is in force since Saturday and is directly applicable law. German customs is stopping all vaccine shipments outside of the EU if there is any doubt that they are not authorized.”
In Belgium, an official said the country was ready to implement the new rules from today. Officials said it would be up to logistics handlers like DHL and Fedex to store the vaccines, some of which must be kept at extremely low temperatures, while authorizations are processed.
Overall, the regulations make clear that the Commission’s primary goal is not to gather information but to give governmental authorities the ability to ensure that the EU’s own vaccine contracts can be fulfilled before doses are shipped elsewhere.
All the above is from Politico, slightly abbreviated for Twitter.
