Filenews 10 February 2021
By the end of the summer, 70% of the adult population in the EU will have been vaccinated, and already, despite the delays, the EU has so far received 26 million doses and vaccinated 17 million people. Of its population, stressed Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen addressing the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels.
The President defended the joint decision on the common supply of vaccines in the EU and pointed out that 94% of medical staff have already been vaccinated in Poland, in Denmark 93% and in Italy already 4% of the general population.
The President of the Commission noted that it would have been inconceivable that only the large ones would have rushed to supply vaccines, as this would have meant the end of the common market
The President admitted that as the EU we "delayed licensing", "overestimated production possibilities" and "hoped to receive the instalments we had ordered", which will learn lessons.
She made it clear, however, that as the EU they did not make discounts on safety and efficiency, and insisted on it (EMA), explaining that the 3-4 additional weeks for licensing are an investment in the safety and confidence of the population.
She announced that Commissioner Stella Kyriakidou is working on the future regulatory framework to speed up the whole process. Commissioner Kyriakidou was also publicly credited by the head of the EPP parliamentary group Manfred Weber for her handling so far.
President Von Der Leyen, referring to mass production and the companies' support for it, said she entrusted the project to Commissioner Bretton. She also noted that the EU did not invest in companies to see contracts not being respected and in this respect introduced the export licensing process. She acknowledged, however, that production is not a simple matter, coordination is needed in the supply of vaccine components and production units are not set up in the blink of an eye.
In relation to the Irish case and the confusion that had arisen, she admitted that mistakes had been made, but in the end the right decisions were taken.
She finally made it clear that the EU is ensuring that we are safe next winter.
For her part, Ana Paula Zakarias, Minister for European Affairs (SGY) of the President-in-Office of the Portuguese Council, made it clear that the EU's common vaccination strategy is a project of solidarity and recalled that it was well known from the outset that the availability of vaccines would be low at the beginning of the campaign and that this was why priority had to be given to specific groups of the population. But she made it clear that the companies had also overestimated their production capacity and created additional delays. She pointed out that companies must honour their commitments and to this end the export licensing regulation has already been launched. As she stressed, the leaders will return to the issue on 25 February. She concluded by explaining that the whole process will take longer than expected and until then it is necessary, on the one hand, to respect the means of protection, and on the other hand to maintain the unity of the 27.
Source: Eyenews/CYP
