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| - EU leaders debated Thursday how to rescue their chaotic coronavirus vaccination drive and secure millions more doses as a third wave of infections breaks over the bloc. US president Joe Biden was due to dial in for a cameo appearance later in the EU video summit, but even his star power couldn't mask the danger. The 27 members have banded together behind the European Commission in a joint purchasing strategy -- but actual vaccination rates have lagged behind those in the US and UK. Host Charles Michel, president of the European Council, had hoped to hold a face-to-face summit but was forced to accept a stripped-down video conference because of travel curbs. Some European countries are reintroducing stricter lockdown rules to head off a new tide of cases, but the bloc is divided on how to share out vaccine supplies and respond to what they see as unfair British tactics. A key summit topic is the European anger over UK-based pharma giant AstraZeneca failing to meet vaccine delivery promises while ensuring smooth supplies to former EU member Britain. As the leaders talked, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen revealed that companies that produce in the EU had exported 77 million does outside the bloc since December. Of these doses, 21 million went to the UK -- two thirds of the total administered there so far. The figures were intended as a rebuke to Britain, which has criticised the EU for "vaccine nationalism" in tightening controls on exports. EU countries are not all happy with a beefed-up European Commission move that could block some vaccine shipments to countries like Britain which produce jabs but don't export them. But draft conclusions seen by AFP support the EU export authorisation scheme, while urging Europe to step up vaccine production. "We underline the importance of transparency as well as of the use of export authorisations," the draft says. "We reaffirm that companies must ensure predictability of their vaccine production and respect contractual delivery deadlines." French President Emmanuel Macron admitted on the eve of the summit that Europe had lacked ambition while the United States, in particular, forged ahead with its inoculation drive. "We weren't quick enough, strong enough on this," he told Greece's ERT television. "We thought that the vaccine would take time to take off." A European source described the EU export authorisation mechanism as "a loaded gun under the table". It is widely seen as a means to pressure AstraZeneca to boost deliveries. But Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands are among countries wary of any move to block exports from vaccine producers such as Pfizer/BioNTech, which supplies both the EU and UK. Von der Leyen's immediate predecessor, former commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, was scathing about the strategy. The EU "used to be the world free trade champion, so I don't think that this is the right way to go," he told the BBC. "I do think that we have to pull back from a vaccine war." If global vaccine supply chains are disrupted, many countries could lose out, as both British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and von der Leyen accept. They are in discussions about how "to create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all our citizens" but have yet to agree on how to share AstraZeneca doses. The firm is expected to deliver 30 million doses to the EU in the first quarter -- a pledge already radically reduced from a contractual 120 million doses. Much of the focus of Brussels and London is on an AstraZeneca plant in the Netherlands producing doses which both sides claim should be theirs. A European diplomat told reporters that an acceptable compromise would be the UK and the Commission agreeing to equally shoulder the AstraZeneca shortfall. Another sensitive issue is the distribution of vaccines which Europe has already received. A group of smaller states led by Austria is demanding more vaccines after they missed an earlier opportunity to secure a bigger share of costlier versions by betting on the cheaper -- but unreliably supplied -- AstraZeneca one. "In the spirit of European solidarity, a fair distribution of vaccine doses within the EU is needed in order to avoid a Europe of two classes in vaccination," Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz tweeted. But there was little sympathy among other delegates for Kurz's tactics, which were seen as trying to blame Brussels for Austria's failure to make good use of the existing sharing mechanism. Against this backdrop, Biden's appearance offers a positive note, with European officials delighted with the new US administration's warmer tone. Just before the summit started, Biden's top diplomat Antony Blinken wrapped up a two-day visit to Brussels that included talks with NATO ministers and top EU officials in which close coordination was pledged. burs-dc/del/kjl
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