London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 18, 2025

EU first as Italy blocks export of 250,000 COVID vaccines to Australia

EU first as Italy blocks export of 250,000 COVID vaccines to Australia

The shipment is estimated to be around 250,000 doses.

Australia has asked the European Commission to review the decision by Italy to block a shipment of coronavirus vaccines headed to its shores.

However, a Commission spokesperson later said that the executive was not aware of any specific request from Canberra.

The move from Italy marked the first time a new EU export control mechanism has been used.

The government of Mario Draghi, Italy's newly appointed prime minister, asked Brussels for the export to be blocked last Friday which the European Commission later approved.

The shipment contained 250,700 doses, according to the Italian government.

Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt told reporters on Friday that the country "has raised the issue with the European Commission through multiple channels, and in particular we have asked the European Commission to review this decision."

"It's a reminder that it's a very, very, very competitive world," he added. Hunt said AstraZeneca had a "deep, broad, global supply chain" and that vaccine doses manufactured in Australia would be available "from late March."

How was the Italian decision taken?


In a statement on Thursday, the Italian Foreign Affairs Ministry said it received an exports authorisation request from AstraZeneca on February 24. The ministry consulted with other administrative bodies in Italy, which "expressed a negative opinion".

Two days later, Italy sent the Commission its refusal to grant the request and Australia was notified of the decision on March 2, before the news became public.

The Italian ministry cited three main reasons for blocking the shipment of vaccines:

Australia is not considered a vulnerable country, according to the EU exports control regulation.
The EU and Italy had experienced shortages of supplies and delays from AstraZeneca.
Italy argued that too many doses are being exported outside the bloc in comparison to those being supplied to EU countries.

Brussels evaluated both the Italian assessment and the export request by AstraZeneca and decided to green-light the blockage, a Commission spokesperson explained, putting emphasis on the fact that AstraZeneca has failed to fulfil its contractual obligations with the European Union.

How did Australia react?


Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at a press conference on Friday that his country has gained "sovereignty" over its own vaccination programme through domestic production.

"We'd always anticipated that these sorts of problems could arise. And that's why we've done a number of things, the most significant of which is to ensure that we have our own domestically-produced vaccine," Morrison said.

In total, Australia has secured 53.8 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, with 50 million expected to be produced inside the country.

Morrison also expressed sympathy with Italy's deadly health crisis.

"I'm in regular contact with European leaders," Morrison said. "In Italy, people are dying at the rate of 300 a day. And so I can certainly understand the high level of anxiety that would exist in Italy and in many countries across Europe, as is regularly conveyed to me. They have some real difficulties there. They are in an unbridled crisis situation. That is not the situation in Australia."

"I want to assure Australians that we've been able to secure those vaccines. This particular shipment was not one we'd counted on for the rollout, and so we will continue unabated," he added.

What is the response from Brussels?


Following the news that the Australian health minister has reached out to Brussels to ask for a review of the decision, a European Commission spokesperson denied being aware of such a request.

Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis held a video call with his counterpart, Australian Trade Minister Hon Dan Tehan, on Friday morning, where the topic was addressed. While this conversation had been previously scheduled to tackle other matters, Dombrovskis took a moment to explain the functioning of the EU exports control scheme and the problems of deliveries that the bloc has been having with AstraZeneca, the spokesperson said.

The Commission clarified that, so far, no other member state has raised a similar demand to prevent vaccine doses from leaving the bloc.

Since the exports control was established, the EU has allowed a total of 174 exports requests, with vaccines being sent to 30 destinations, such as Canada, Chile, Colombia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom.

"The EU is a major vaccine exporter," the spokesperson said, assuring that companies that fulfil their obligations with the bloc won't be banned from exporting EU-made doses.

Members of the European Parliament have also weighed in, with German MEP Peter Liese saying the move to block the shipment was "unfortunately, now necessary" and argued that both the UK and US have exports bans in place for vaccines.

His colleague MEP Bernd Lange was more critical, writing on Twitter that "Pandora's box has been opened" and calling Italy's decision a "mistake" that could "prelude to global battle over COVID-19 vaccine".


The exports control scheme


Brussels introduced the export control mechanism in January amid a row with AstraZeneca after the pharmaceutical firm said it be delivering fewer jabs to the EU than planned. The idea was to stop vaccines made in the EU from leaving the bloc if needs be.

Amid criticism of the mechanism, Brussels insisted it had - prior to Italy's request - approved all export requests.

Many countries around the world, like Canada, Japan and Australia, depend upon European plants to procure vaccines for their citizens.

Italy's decision follows critical comments made by Draghi around the EU's sluggish vaccine roll-out.

During last week's meeting of European leaders, he urged his colleagues and the European Commission to "go faster" and expressed his preference to keep EU-made vaccines inside the bloc.

Just two weeks ago, the European External Action Services (EEAS) released a statement celebrating the arrival of the first EU-made doses in Australia.

"More than 142,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have arrived at Sydney airport from the European Union in a major milestone in Australia’s response to the pandemic," the statement said.

Last Sunday, another shipment of 300,000 AstraZeneca doses manufactured in Europe landed on Australian soil.

The company has production sites in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy.

AstraZeneca has been previously suspected of sending EU-made jabs to other countries, particularly to the United Kingdom from its Dutch plant.

These suspicions led to a public row with the European Commission and, after a fractious back-and-forth, to the introduction of the exports control scheme.

Italy's extraordinary move is set to trigger a diplomatic dispute and could exacerbate tensions and resentment in the heated vaccination race, which has put some countries on top with others lagging behind.

The World Health Organization has for months warned against the threat of vaccine nationalism, saying that "nobody is safe until everybody is safe". However, the global scarcity of jabs has led countries to adopt exceptional measures to guarantee their citizens are inoculated first.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
×