BRUSSELS (AP) – European solidarity against vaccines gained momentum on Friday after France said it could mimic the Italian move to block exports of coronavirus vaccines outside the European Union if that is what is needed to enforce the blog’s own contracts with drug manufacturers.
The European Union defended the decision of the Italian authorities to stop a large shipment of doses destined for Australia as part of a long dispute with the drug manufacturer AstraZeneca.
The EU executive arm said the decision was not aimed at Australia, but had been taken to ensure AstraZeneca delivered the number of doses it had pledged to ship to EU countries.
“The fact is that the European Union is a major exporter of vaccine doses,” said Eric Mamer, chief spokesman for the European Commission.
Faced with dose shortages during the early stages of the vaccine campaign, the EU announced in early January an export control mechanism that would stop deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines off the block to try to force companies to comply. first their contractual obligations to the block.
Since the mechanism entered into force on 30 January, the Commission has said that 174 vaccine export authorizations have been approved for 30 different EU countries.
AstraZeneca has been of particular concern to the EU because the company delivers much fewer doses to the blog than it had promised. Of the initial order of 80 million doses in the EU during the first quarter of this year, the company will struggle to deliver half of that amount.
“We believe this vaccine is an important element of our portfolio and therefore we look forward to the delivery of the agreed doses,” Mamer said. “We are working with companies to ensure that they deliver the doses planned for the European Union. For all those companies that do it, there is no problem with the exports ”.
As serum supplies remain scarce in the region of 27 countries amid delays in deliveries and production problems, European countries have shown signs of divisions recently. Several countries have expressed frustration at the slow deployment of doses and are seeking an additional supply of vaccines outside the EU-established joint procurement,
But Italy’s decision to block the shipment of more than 250,000 doses of AstraZeneca to Australia closed ranks among member states. French Health Minister Olivier Veran said he “understood” the Italian government’s decision and indicated that France “could do the same”.
“Believe me, the more doses I have, the happier I am as Minister of Health,” Veran said in an interview on BFMTV, adding that France and its European partners are determined to enforce their contracts with the drug manufacturers.
Highlighting the role of the EU in vaccine research, development and production, the German government also justified the export restriction.
“In general, vaccine exports do not stop as long as contracts with the EU are fulfilled,” said German government spokesman Steffen Seibert. “Many vaccines go from the EU to third countries, while nothing or almost nothing is exported from the United States and Britain.”
Earlier, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said that, in general terms, it was right for the EU to ensure that vaccine manufacturers complied with the promised deliveries. But he also said it was important for EU-wide coordination on export restrictions.
The EU thought it had solidly prepared for the launch of vaccines to its 450 million people. He has signed agreements for six different vaccines. In total, it has ordered up to 400 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and sealed agreements with other companies for more than 2 billion shots.
But only 33 million doses have been given so far and only 11 million Europeans have been completely vaccinated. Despite the current difficulties, the EU’s goal remains to vaccinate 70% of the bloc’s adult population by the end of the summer.
The Italian government’s move marked the first use of the export control system. It frustrated the Australian government, which seeks assurances from the EU executive arm that future vaccine shipments will not be blocked
“Currently, the world is in unfamiliar territory, it’s no surprise that some countries are breaking the rulebook,” Australian Finance Minister Simon Birmingham told Sky News Australia on Friday. Birmingham acknowledged, however, that Australia received 300,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine last week, and “this will make our current distribution plan work.”
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Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this story.
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