Nick Timothy said people should not be surprised about the bloc’s threat to stall exports of Covid vaccines destined for the UK, given its “hypocritical attitude to rules”. And in a warning about what may lie ahead, he said the club of nations is “fixated by its own accumulation of power” and dealing with the trade bloc post-Brexit would be no easy matter.
He suggested Eurocrats would at all costs seek to prevent Britain from thriving outside the bloc.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, he said: “We will be up against an entity fixated by its own accumulation of power, stung by its recent failure and determined to stop Britain making a success of Brexit.
“It will swear by the rules even as it breaks them, give lectures about showing good faith while abusing it, and take a reckless approach to peace in Northern Ireland, which it has never understood nor truly cared about.”
He added: “The failures of Brussels might weaken the EU, but in reality, they do not strengthen Britain.
“We will still be dealing with a dysfunctional yet often dangerous neighbour for years to come.”
The EU, which is the world’s largest trading bloc, has been lambasted by citizens and European leaders over its handling of the coronavirus vaccine rollout.
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An official in Brussels said: “The UK is not to blame. The EU is not to blame.
“It’s about everyone finding agreement with a company that has been over-selling its production capacity.
“AstraZeneca has to deliver doses to its EU customers.”
Mr Timothy said those trying to predict how the debacle surrounding jabs will play out should look to how the EU bungled crises in the past.
He pointed to the 2015 migrant crisis which saw more than 1.8 million people cross into Europe.
There was a stark lack of unity in the EU on how to deal with the huge influx, with Germany calling for asylum quotas for member states, and other leaders refusing to cave.
Mr Timothy said the bloc would continue to be blighted by factors that had affected its ability to deal with problems in the past, such as “a glacial approach to decision-making, disregard for the interests of smaller countries, and the cold reality of German power”.
Mr Timothy served as joint Downing Street chief of staff to former prime minister Mrs May.
He resigned in the wake of the 2017 general election which saw the Tories’ parliamentary majority slashed.
