* EU under fire over slow vaccine rollout, border checks
issue
* Von der Leyen says Commission has been 'quick on its feet'
* Sees easing of supply problems as production ramps up
(Updates after meetings)
By Philip Blenkinsop
BRUSSELS, Feb 2 (Reuters) - EU lawmakers questioned chief
executive Ursula von der Leyen for hours on Tuesday over the
slow rollout and shortage of COVID-19 vaccines as she took
responsibility for an export control plan that angered Britain
and Ireland.
Three groups in the European Parliament on Tuesday evening
grilled Von der Leyen, a German who tweeted and appeared only on
German television in the first few days after the bloc imposed
curbs on vaccine exports on Friday.
Another parliament session was set for Wednesday morning,
and the groups want the EU president to appear before a full
session of parliament next week.
The COVID-19 vaccine crisis, which came to a head with the
EU export controls, followed news that AstraZeneca would
cut its supply of vaccines to the bloc until March by 60% due to
production problems.
Even with the addition of an extra 9 million doses that von
der Leyen announced on Sunday, the shortfall is at least 50%.
Questions still surround the Commission's decision -
swiftly reversed - to invoke Article 16 of the Brexit
agreement's Northern Ireland protocol. The move, part of the
EU's effort to boost vaccine supply for its member states, would
have set up border checks on the island of Ireland.
Von der Leyen accepted responsibility for Commission acts
and decisions, a person at one of Tuesday's meetings said.
The European Commission president repeated to lawmakers
arguments she made to newspapers as she sought to defuse
criticism over the slow start to COVID-19 vaccinations and
outrage over the border checks issue.
Asked by the Irish Times if she would apologise, von der
Leyen said she regretted that Article 16 was in a "provisional
version" of the decision, but said the EU executive had been
"quick on its feet" to find another solution.
Dacian Ciolos, president of the liberal Renew Europe group,
said mistakes could have grave consequences. "We have no margin
for error in this process. Not only does the credibility of the
EU and in particular the European Commission depend on it but
also the health and wellbeing of our citizens," he said in a
statement.
Sophie in 't Veld, a Dutch liberal lawmaker, said von der
Leyen was relying on too narrow a circle of advisers.
"She's made a couple of big fat mistakes. Article 16 was
one," she told Reuters, adding that her tendency to speak only
to German media was another problem.
EU countries have so far given first doses to about 3% of
their populations, compared with 9% for the United States and
14% for Britain, according to Our World in Data.
Von der Leyen said the EU had lagged rivals by three to four
weeks because of a more rigorous approvals process. Supply
problems should ease in the second quarter of 2021, but
increasing production remained a challenge.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; additional reporting by John
Chalmers
Editing by Gareth Jones, Angus MacSwan and Cynthia Osterman)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
