Von Der Leyen Blames EU Trade Chief for Vaccine Export Gaffe

(Bloomberg) -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sought to deflect the blame for a humiliating U-turn over vaccine export controls, saying that one of her deputies had been responsible for the controversial regulation.

The commission sparked outrage in the U.K. and Ireland on Friday when it released proposals for controls on shipments of vaccines from the EU into Northern Ireland, undermining its own commitment during Brexit negotiations to keeping the Irish border open. The plan was abruptly dropped later that night.

“What I can tell you is that there is one cabinet which was lead on this, that is Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis because he is in charge of trade,” the commission’s chief spokesman Eric Mamer told reporters in Brussels on Monday. “This regulation falls under the responsibility of Mr. Dombrovskis and his cabinet and of course the services of the commission which respond to him.”

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Von der Leyen has come under heavy fire over the hasty adoption of measures that oblige drug companies to obtain authorization before they can send shots manufactured in the EU to other countries and officials have been speculating on who might be made the scapegoat.

The initial plan included an option for the EU to invoke an emergency clause in the Brexit deal that could introduce restrictions between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, a prospect that was met with dismay in Dublin, London and Belfast.

Shortly after the announcement of the mechanism, von der Leyen performed a late-night U-turn to strip out that part of the plan. It was the latest in a series of communication and policy setbacks for von der Leyen as she struggles to fix the slow and at times chaotic rollout of the EU’s vaccination program.

Dombrovskis himself had publicly stated there was no plan for curbs on vaccine exports just two days before the commission released its proposals. The trade chief was then wheeled out to present the new regulations on Friday, before several elements, including its decision-making clauses, were properly fully firmed up.

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