Vaccine protectionism

Follow Us Get the newsletter Countries habitually speak about the need for unity and collaboration on shared issues. A crisis immediately tests those words. Europe is finding that out as governments come under pressure from their citizens for slow and patchy rollouts of Covid-19 vaccines. Especially with recently-departed European Union member the U.K. proving faster at inoculating people (though grappling with the fifth-highest global death toll from the coronavirus), alongside smaller states like Israel. After months of talk about coordination and cooperation, the finger pointing has started. But where in the process did things go awry? And who is at fault? Vaccine providers themselves? Was it a failure by state governments or by the EU coordinators in Brussels? The truth may be somewhere in the middle. Certainly AstraZeneca, the vaccine maker most in the firing line, is rejecting claims it is responsible for delays or insufficient supplies. It may yet refuse to be hauled onto a tough call this evening with EU policymakers. And while critics have taken aim at Brussels, individual European states signed their own contracts and the whole process used up precious time. Part of the goal was to ensure the bloc navigated as much favorable access as possible to shots and to prevent fighting between members. Germany has also now taken aim at U.S. export restrictions, signaling its backing for similar curbs. Vaccine nationalism it seems is the new trade protectionism. The EU hinges on the notion of the greater good. It has survived many bouts of uncertainty before, where individual states clashed, disagreed and acted in their own interests. But to do so takes determined leadership from Brussels and the biggest EU members including Germany and France. Amid all the shouting, the messaging about staying on track in working together risks getting lost. — Rosalind Mathieson Visitors stand in line outside a Covid-19 vaccination site in Berlin on Jan. 4. Photographer: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz/Bloomberg Tell us how we're doing or what we're missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. Global Headlines Go it alone | U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he's ready to start moving on a Covid-19 relief plan potentially supported only by Democrats as soon as next week if Republicans continue to reject President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion proposal. The catch is that not all of Biden's plan is likely, because of congressional budget rules, to qualify for that route, including $160 billion for vaccines and testing and a proposed minimum-wage hike. The administration's move to boost the supply of vaccines amounts to opening the faucet a little wider, and demand will still swamp supply for months unless the U.S. can open another spigot. Presiding officer | U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts's refusal to preside over Donald Trump's second impeachment trial hands Republicans an opportunity to focus on the Senate process rather than the specifics of the insurrection charge against the former president. Roberts's decision leaves pro-conviction Democrat Patrick Leahy overseeing proceedings, which could spark Republican accusations of a more partisan process than Trump's prior impeachment. Mainland ally | As China moves to neutralize Hong Kong's pro-democracy opposition, it's also giving the green light to a new party that provides a window into how Beijing may change the territory. As Kari Lindberg writes, the Bauhinia Party, while still tiny, is led by Western-educated businessmen who were born in the mainland and have links to the Communist Party. While Bauhinia's platform says it aims to safeguard freedom, democracy and the rule of law, the group's diagnosis of the territory's troubles mirrors that of Beijing. The Bauhinia Party Co-Founder Charles Wong. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg Back-room plots | Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's resignation has set off closed-door negotiations to install a new administration to deal with the pandemic and tanking economy. With government activity near a standstill, President Sergio Mattarella starts two days of consultations with political parties today on whether to choose a new leader or put Conte, popular with the public, back in the saddle with a rejigged coalition. Gender gap | Victories for gender equality can be fleeting. Take Romania, which has leapfrogged Luxembourg to boast the EU's smallest difference in salaries between sexes, passed laws mandating diversity and named its first woman prime minister in 2018. But as Andra Timu and Irina Vilcu report, a male hold on parliament strengthened in December elections. The new cabinet includes just one woman, and the central bank board has none. What to Watch Biden will issue a series of executive actions today to combat climate change, a day after he signed an order requiring the Justice Department to end its use of privately run prisons. Caretaker Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, buoyed by his administration's Covid response, is poised to retake the premiership after March elections. The Chinese company that owns TikTok saw its revenue more than double to about $35 billion last year, defying heightened global competition and an attempt by Trump to ban its signature video app in the U.S. And finally ... The world's two richest men are duking it out over extraterrestrial real estate for their satellite fleets. Elon Musk's SpaceX has asked the Federal Communications Commission for approval to operate a communications fleet at a lower orbit than first planned. Jeff Bezos's Amazon.com says the move could interfere with its own planned satellites which, like Musk's, are designed to beam internet service from space. A SpaceX rocket flies above Manhattan Beach, California, on Oct. 7, 2018. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg   You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. Unsubscribe | Bloomberg.com | Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022