Why the European Commission failed the vaccine challenge

The EU’s failure to deliver Covid-19 vaccines at pace is a major political scandal. For some leading politicians, it is a potentially career-ending fiasco. Those in the line of fire include Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission; Emmanuel Macron, president of France and Jens Spahn, Germany’s health minister and a potential future chancellor.

Faced with a massive health emergency, the commission lacked the in-house expertise to meet the challenge of vaccine procurement. Officials in Brussels moved with excessive caution, haggling over prices and contracts, while the US, Israel and the UK raced ahead.

Criticism of the commission is also growing inside the EU. There have been damning verdicts on Ms Von der Leyen’s stewardship in the German press. Markus Söder, chief minister of Bavaria, has accused the commission of lacking the necessary sense of urgency and following “typical, normal, bureaucratic EU procedure”.

GIDEON RACHMAN, FINANCIAL TIMES