EU threatens to restrict vaccine exports unless it gets 'fair share'

BRUSSELS - The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday warned that the European Union (EU) might restrict vaccine exports to countries who have higher vaccination rates, stressing the necessity to ensure reciprocity and proportionality of the vaccine exports.

"We are in the crisis of the century, and I'm not ruling out anything for now, because we have to make sure that Europeans are vaccinated as soon as possible," she told a press conference.

The EU is facing a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and at present less than a tenth of its population is vaccinated.

Around 41 million doses of vaccines have been exported from EU to 33 countries and regions since Feb 1, von der Leyen said, while accusing the British multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca of having "underproduced and underdelivered" to the bloc, with the original 180 million doses dwindling down to just 70 million.

The Commission chief has been under pressure over the EU's handling of the bloc's vaccination rollout, with Brussels engaging in a row with AstraZeneca over vaccine deliveries. The dispute escalated with the EU at one point threatening to override the Brexit agreement with Britain over the Irish border, which came after AstraZeneca had said the initial number of doses it could supply to the EU would be lower than first thought.

"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," said von der Leyen.

Besides, the EU will also reflect on whether exports to countries who have higher vaccination rates are still proportionate, she added.

Furthermore, she warned that the EU is ready to use whatever tool needed to ensure "Europe gets its fair share".

2021年3月17日，在比利时布鲁塞尔的欧盟总部，欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯·德·莱恩在一场新闻发布会开始时摘下了她的防护面具，此前一场大学会议介绍了欧盟新冠肺炎疫苗接种证书的立法草案。[图片/机构]布鲁塞尔——欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯·德·莱恩周三警告称，欧盟可能会限制向疫苗接种率较高的国家出口疫苗，强调必须确保疫苗出口的互惠性和相称性。“我们正处于本世纪的危机中，我现在不排除任何可能性，因为我们必须确保欧洲人尽快接种疫苗，”她在新闻发布会上说。欧盟正面临第三波冠状病毒大流行，目前不到十分之一的人口接种了疫苗。冯德莱恩说，自2月1日以来，欧盟已向33个国家和地区出口了约4100万剂疫苗，同时指责英国跨国制药公司阿斯利康(AstraZeneca)对欧盟“生产不足，供货不足”，最初的1.8亿剂疫苗减少到只有7000万剂。欧盟委员会主席一直受到欧盟处理该集团疫苗接种推广的压力，布鲁塞尔与阿斯利康就疫苗交付发生了争执。与欧盟的争端一度升级，威胁要推翻与英国就爱尔兰边境达成的英国退出欧盟协议。此前，阿斯利康表示，它可以向欧盟提供的初始剂量将低于最初的预期。冯·德·莱恩说:“如果情况不变，我们将不得不考虑如何根据疫苗生产国的开放程度向它们出口。”。此外，她补充说，欧盟还将考虑对疫苗接种率较高的国家的出口是否仍然相称。此外，她警告称，欧盟准备使用任何必要的工具来确保“欧洲得到公平的份额”。