The leaders of the G7 countries (Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and the United States), which opened on Friday 11 June for three days in the seaside resort of Carbis Bay (South-West England) under the chairmanship of Boris Johnson, are all in favour of global Covid-19 vaccination. They will accept nothing less than to “defeat the pandemic” and should commit to sharing 10 billion doses of vaccine with the poorest countries.
On this point, the EU expects the G7 to provide grant contributions and technology transfers, not the temporary lifting of patents.
“We must ensure that the whole world is vaccinated as soon as possible. The EU is at the forefront of ensuring equitable access to vaccines around the world, especially in developing countries”, said European Council President Charles Michel on the eve of the summit.
As a champion of global immunisation and international cooperation, the EU will highlight its leading role in vaccine dose sharing (270 million doses exported to 90 countries) and the funding of the Covax facility (over 2.8 billion euros) (see EUROPE 12733/26).
“We will donate at least 100 million doses by the end of the year. We must also strengthen manufacturing capacities around the world. So we will invest one billion euros to boost vaccine production in Africa. We are also ready to work in Latin America to develop projects in this part of the world”, stressed Charles Michel.
These were the promises made by the EU at the Global Health Summit in Rome on 21 May (see EUROPE 12724/5).
G7 leaders will also discuss how best to prepare for future pandemics, building on the Rome Declaration. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)