The European Union called for stricter controls on the export of coronavirus vaccines

EU leaders stressed the need to control the export of coronavirus vaccines in a video conference. The German Chancellor called on vaccine manufacturers to seriously fulfill their obligations so that the EU can distribute the vaccine fairly.

In a video conference, the heads of state of the European Union supported the EU Commission's view of stricter control over the export of coronavirus vaccines from the EU territory.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that if companies producing coronavirus vaccines do not fulfill their obligations to the European Union, regulations on the export of vaccines from the EU territory will be tightened.

Among other things, the breach of obligations by the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca was mentioned; the company did not adhere to its commitments to the European Union, but at the same time preferred to export a vaccine produced in the European Union to the United Kingdom.

Ms. Merkel also emphasized that in order to seriously combat the pandemic, it is necessary to distribute vaccines in the European Union in proportion to the extent of the pandemic's spread.

No final decision has yet been made on how many coronavirus vaccines will be distributed among European Union countries.

Angela Merkel announced that member state delegations must decide how to distribute 10 million doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine that will soon be made available to the European Union.

Six EU member states have criticized the unfair distribution of the coronavirus vaccine: Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Latvia.

Source: DW