EU PAYS PRICE FOR ITS OWN INCOMPETENCE

   Dominic Lawson: Yet, as the head of AstraZeneca, Pascal Soriot, told a group of European journalists last week, it was because the UK had moved more quickly that our own factories had — even before the vaccine was licensed — ironed out the problems in what is far from a straightforward process.
   European factories are still struggling to get it right, in part because they were months behind on the production learning curve. According to Soriot, this was why his firm was failing to meet the orders it had promised to the EU.
   And what was Dr Liese's reaction? He raged: 'The only consequence can be immediately stopping the export of the vaccines . . . the company [AstraZeneca] and the UK had better think twice . . . it's time we begin to show our weapons.'
   Just days later, Ursula von der Leyen did precisely as her CDU colleague and co-national asked. Not only that: without even informing the Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin, she broke the month-old protocol between the EU and the UK, by declaring, in effect, a vaccine border between the North and South of Ireland.
   It was an act of staggering arrogance, born of panic. Within hours, following calls from the Irish and British heads of government, she backtracked humiliatingly.
   This whole episode, revealing the unelected European Commission to be not just arrogant but vicious in its self-defense, like a dangerous dog, has done more for the cause of Brexit than anything Boris Johnson could achieve.