Reply to post: Re: .....but in the "sunny uplands" this sort of c**k up never happens, does it?

Re: .....but in the "sunny uplands" this sort of c**k up never happens, does it?

The attempts to defend the EU's procurement failure seem to centre on the hypothetical members could opt out (UK supremacist view) or that some EU countries caught up (by placing their own orders independently). Neither stand due to the facts.

I am not attempting to defend the EUs procurement mechanism.

I am pointing out the bald fact that participation in the initial procurement programme, and its successors was, and is, optional for individual member states. Hungary's opting-out demonstrates this, and demonstrates that the ability to not participate was not a benefit of Brexit.

More about Joint Procurement Agreements

https://www.bevanbrittan.com/insights/articles/2020/covid-19-eu-joint-procurement-of-ppe-ventilators-and-testing-kits/

More about the procurement programme. Much is uncomplimentary, but it being optional is not disputed.

https://ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/the-eu-vaccine-programme/

https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-coronavirus-vaccine-struggle-pfizer-biontech-astrazeneca/

In addition, Germany negotiated bilaterally with Russia with the aim of obtaining 30 million doses of the Sputnik vaccine even while participating in the EU procurement programme.

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-wants-to-buy-30-million-sputnik-v-vaccine-doses-state-premier/a-57287686

So we have evidence (a) that participation in the EU procurement programme was optional and (b) joining the programme did not prevent negotiating bilaterally.

There is plenty of criticism of the EU Joint Procurement Agreement approach: some is probably valid - but nothwithstanding that 'going it alone' might have been the better approach by some measures, at least temporarily, Brexit in and of itself did not deliver the ability to act independently of the rest of the EU/EEA in this regard.

I have provided links to back up my statements, you have not, and claim to have debunked things when you have quite clearly not.

Your grasp of the facts appears shaky.

You are trying to move the goalposts.

In any reply, you need to provide evidence that the Joint Procurement Agreement covering the procurement of vaccines was not optional, and the UK would, as an EU member, have been legally obliged to participate.