VIENNA (Reuters) – The European Commission on Saturday defended its policy of uniform distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to the bloc after Austria and five other member states complained that doses were not allocated equally.
In a joint letter to the Commission and the European Council, leaders from six European countries, including the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Latvia and later Croatia, called for discussions on vaccine distribution.
The Commission replied that the doses had been distributed proportionally to the population of each country and taking into account the epidemiological data, and added that it was up to the governments of the member states to decide how to share them.
A flexible policy agreed by EU governments meant that countries facing a more acute phase of the epidemic could access more doses, if some governments chose not to assume their proportional allocation, the EU executive said. in a statement.
“It is up to the Member States to find an agreement if they want to return to the proportional basis,” he said, adding that he supported an allocation method based exclusively on a proportion of the population of each EU nation.
The Commission has been criticized for the slow deployment of vaccines in the bloc, although EU governments play a leading role in the purchase of vaccines and vaccination plans.
On Friday, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said vaccine doses were not being evenly distributed among member states despite an agreement within the bloc to do so according to the population. He blamed, without providing evidence, separate business between the EU vaccination board and pharmaceutical companies.
The letter from Kurz and his counterparts, addressed to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, called for “a European solution”.
“In recent days … we have discovered that … vaccine deliveries by pharmaceutical companies to EU member states are not being implemented equally following the proportional population key,” the letter said. published in the Austrian media. .
“Therefore, we ask you, Charles, to hold a debate on this important issue among leaders as soon as possible.”
By the end of June, Malta is getting three times more vaccine doses in relation to its population than Bulgaria, Kurz said.
The letter did not mention the steering group, which is the body that negotiates vaccine agreements with companies on behalf of EU states. The deputy director of the board of directors is Austrian.
Opposition parties have accused Kurz of trying to divert himself from the blame for the slow pace of vaccinations. The Social Democrats said he was looking for “scapegoats for his failure.”
An EU official said Michel had received the letter and a summit of leaders was already scheduled for March 25-26.
“COVID coordination will be addressed again by the 27 members during this meeting,” the official said, without specifying whether this included the distribution of vaccines.
Michel’s office declined to comment.
Report by Francois Murphy; Additional report by Francesco Guarascio in Brussels, edited by Alexandra Hudson and Clelia Oziel