Europe and the United Kingdom are wrestling with different issues.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is riding high on the successful roll-out of the country's vaccine program and Downing Street needs to keep that lead.

Meanwhile, Brussels is under immense scrutiny, a lot of it hostile, as its vaccine program continues to struggle to get off to a good start.

The problems the bloc is facing are almost entirely commercial. All the main vaccine producers – Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca – have been late with the production of the jab. 

But the UK got its orders in weeks ahead of the EU and is now reaping the benefit.

Now with the pressure on, there is a sense in Europe that it has been short-changed by an unfair system, which has led to the EU leaders' recent debates.

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UK's 'observe progress' approach

The UK, on the other hand, has different priorities.

There is now talk of government plans to introduce vaccination certificates for future entries into pubs. 

It is proving controversial – the hospitality sector is reluctant to police it and some argue it could be seen as discriminatory.

Johnson has made it clear there is still plenty to think about. 

"There are lots of difficult issues, because there are some people who for medical reasons can't get a vaccination, pregnant women can't get a vaccination at the moment, you've got to be careful about how you do this," he said.

UK lawmakers have voted to extend the government's emergency COVID-19 powers for another six months to help tackle the pandemic. A minority of MPs see it as a threat to individual liberties, and some deem a one-month extension more suitable. 

In the parliamentary debate, it became clear the government's timetable will remain unchanged, with step four – the lifting of all restrictions– still scheduled for "not before June 21."

But UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock emphasized again that the government, while optimistic, was still very much adopting an "observe progress" approach, before confirming any decisions or dates.

One potential hurdle on the way is its own vaccine production delay, following the news from the AstraZeneca supplier in India that there will be no more exports for a while. 

All over-50s in the UK are being urged to book their appointment for the vaccine as soon as possible before the National Health Service diverts all remaining doses to delivering boosters for those first inoculated in January.