17/02/2021 (Agence Europe) – In a statement issued on Wednesday 17 February, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) called for the democratisation of the vaccination process in the European Union. The ETUC believes that Covid vaccines should not be subject to market forces under any circumstances. The trade union organisation has put forward a series of proposals: - stop keeping demand in excess of supply in order to increase the price of vaccines; - administer free vaccinations, starting with the most exposed workers; - apply a waiver to intellectual property rights included in the World Trade Organization (WTO) TRIPS agreement for vaccines, medical equipment and medicines to tackle the coronavirus; - lastly, stop and reverse the budget cuts in social protection and health systems. (PH)