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Tweets of the Week: Vaccine battle, Dutch riots, Estonian Prime minister

By Jacques Vermeer and Jennifer Baker | EURACTIV.com | video by Jacques Vermeer

29-01-2021

Vaccine battle could do widespread harm, Dutch riots spark national alarm, and new Estonian Prime Minister takes over with charm.

This week a huge row broke out between the EU and Covid vaccine producer AstraZeneca. 

Despite signing an Advance Purchase Agreement with the EU to deliver millions of doses, the pharmaceutical company says it will not be able to deliver.

A furious Stella Kyriakides wanted to know why!

The EU wants to know exactly which doses have been produced where by AstraZeneca so far, and if, or to whom, they have been delivered. The answers have not been satisfactory so far tweeted the Health Commissioner on Monday.

 

Bruno Waterfield reckons the technical term is “holy fuck”

 

“You know what? Can you give me until next year?” joked DG Meme.

If you want to understand why people hoard toilet paper in supermarkets, see how rich countries hoard all the vaccines said Tanja Milevska.

 

And it kept escalating as #AstraZeneca pulled out of a meeting with EU officials on Wednesday reported Beatrice Rios.

 

And there was no shortage of fantasy headlines.

 

European politicians “up in arms” that they can’t get vaccines “up in arms” suggested Berlaymonster.

 

SHOCK As Dealings With A Pharmaceutical Company Hit Snag And Bears Continue To Defecate In Forests, snarked Le Chou

 

While The Daily Mash reported: We will vaccinate our hamsters before we give spare vaccines to you, Hancock tells EU

 

If I were AstraZeneca’s CEO I would simply make more of the vaccine claimed Sam Morgan.

 

…I’m fairly sure it’s not as simple as that Sam!

 

David Henig summed it up best: It starts to feel like an entirely normal case of over promising and contractual ambiguity, made toxic by urgency, heightened emotion and regional politics.

And speaking of heightened emotion and toxic politics… Police in the Netherlands clashed with protesters angry at new Covid restrictions in three consecutive nights of riots.

 

Darren McCaffrey reported that officers used water cannon and tear gas to clear demonstrators in Eindhoven, who gathered in defiance of a new 9pm curfew

 

More than 100 people were arrested.

 

Although Jesse Pappers’ photo paints an altogether more tranquil picture 

 

Sadly most of the images were like this:

 

 

Dutch PM Mark Rutte condemned the disturbances as “criminal violence”

Water cannon, tear gas, burning cars, and a coronavirus testing station burned down – first 24 hours of curfew going well in the Netherlands, tweeted Danny Kemp!

 

Finally this week, some positive news.

 

Former MEP Kaja Kallas has been named as the first female prime minister of Estonia

 

European Council President Charles Michel unofficially welcomed her to the club saying he was looking forward to working closely with her.

 

MEP Roberta Metsola was also quick to share her congratulations. One of the very best people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, she said.

 

Best wishes to the new, gender-balanced, pro-European, reform-minded government tweeted MEP Sophie In’t Veld

 

And Ani Shakarishvili sent Kudos to Estonia as it becomes the only country in the world that has both a woman President and Prime Minister.

 

In fact, six out of eight Baltic and Nordic governments are now led by women!

 

As MEP Frédérique Ries pointed out, a picture paints 1000 words!

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