EU Leaders Agree To Tighten Exports Of COVID-19 Vaccines

European Union illustration. (Wikimedia Commons / Håkan Dahlström)

JAKARTA - European Union leaders have supported tightening the criteria for allowing the export of the COVID-19 vaccine, in order to secure vaccine supplies for citizens of EU member countries.

The move follows weeks of shortages and delays, particularly over vaccine producer AstraZeneca, which has caused frustration across the continent.

The European Union plans to incorporate the principles of proportionality and reciprocity into the transparency mechanism introduced in late January, as well as assessing export demand from pharmaceutical companies on a case-by-case basis.

This means that countries leading the way in COVID-19 vaccination programs, such as the UK, will find it an even harder task to get vaccines from EU countries.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said EU leaders had considered the export restriction of the new vaccine acceptable. However, he hopes the policy will never be used.

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen confirmed on Thursday 25 March that the European Union has exported 77 million doses of vaccine to 33 countries since 1 December 2020. As the main donor of COVAX, the European Union also contributes to exports to low and middle-income countries.

He called on pharmaceutical companies to honor their contracts and adjust to the openness of Europe, in terms of distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, reported Euronews.

He said Europe was at the start of the third wave of COVID-19, although the death rate was lower. For that, according to him, a rapid vaccination program is needed. Von der Leyen said, of the 88 million doses that have been distributed in Europe, 62 million of them have been given.

"Just to be clear, we want to make sure that Europe will get a fair share of the vaccine. Because we have to be able to explain to our citizens that if companies export vaccines around the world, it's because they fully respect their commitments and it's not risking the safety of supplies in the EU", he explained on the first day of the EU leaders' summit which is scheduled to take place in two days on March 25-26.

He added that until now, only 4.1 percent of the European population had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. If the pharmaceutical company fulfills the contract, the vaccination program can be faster.

Von der Leyen also revealed that the European Union is on the right track to reach the target of 70 percent vaccine for adults by June 2021.