European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU could adjust its exports of the Covid-19 vaccine if the need arises, at a press conference on 17 March.
“If the situation does not change, we will have to reflect on how to make exports to vaccine producing countries dependent on their level of openness”, she added after detailing the number of doses of vaccines exported by the EU (41 million doses under the transparency mechanism).
The Commission President assured that all options were on the table to ensure reciprocity in vaccine exports. “It is hard to explain to our citizens why vaccines produced in the EU are going to other countries also producing vaccines and hardly anything is coming back to the EU”, she said.
Another avenue explored by the Commission concerns exports to third countries where the vaccination rate is higher than in the EU. The EU wants to assess whether exporting to these countries is “proportionate”, von der Leyen said.
United Kingdom. She was quick to point the finger at the UK, saying it was the largest recipient of EU vaccine exports (10 million doses).
“In our contract with AstraZeneca, there are even two sites in the UK that are put in the contract for potential deliveries to the EU. We are still waiting for doses from the UK”, she noted.
The Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA), Daniel Caspary (EPP, Germany), supported the tougher stance. “Only those who show solidarity themselves can benefit from solidarity”, he said via Twitter.
INTA Committee Chair Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany) does not see it that way. “Threat of export bans on COVID19 vaccine by the European Commission is a sign of helplessness rather than strength”, he said. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)