EU foreign ministers took stock of global health and the EU’s delivery of Covid-19 vaccines to third countries on Monday 10 May and found that the EU - with almost 200 million doses delivered to partner countries to date - is doing far more than China and Russia, and incomparably more than the US and the UK.
“It is important to note that the EU exported 192 million doses, while vaccinating our own population. The export effort is considerably more important than China’s, with 147 million doses, and Russia’s, with 10 million, while the US and UK at almost zero”, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell told the press.
Proud of this achievement, he assured that “the EU will continue playing its role in leading the multilateral response through Covax”, the global mechanism guided by WHO, GAVI and CEPI to ensure universal and equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines (see EUROPE 12711/3).
The topic was on the agenda of the EU Foreign Affairs Council as a topical issue in view of the Global Health Summit on 21 May, which will be co-hosted by the European Commission and the G20 Presidency in Rome (see EUROPE 12714/12, 12702/3). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)