Bulgaria and four more want the EU to discuss differences in vaccine distribution (updated)



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PHOTO: Reuters

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, and Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic Andrej Babiš, Latvian Arturs Krišjanis Karinš and Slovenian Janez Janez Janša called for a debate at the European level on the supply of vaccines against COVID-19 in Member States, the government press service.

The five leaders sent a letter to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, highlighting the importance of European solidarity, which ensures that all Member States, large or small, have the same access to limited resources, such as COVID. 19 vaccines.

The letter recalls the conclusions reached after the videoconference of the members of the European Council on January 21, which establishes that vaccines must be delivered at the same time and must be distributed proportionally according to the population of the member states. Failure to comply with this proportionality would lead to huge differences between Member States by the summer, with some reaching herd immunity in a matter of weeks, while others would be left far behind, according to the letter.

According to Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and the other four European leaders who signed the letter, it must be ensured that all EU member states will be able to achieve the common vaccination targets set by the European Commission for the second quarter of this year on an equal footing. terms. . The letter also notes that vaccination is a turning point in the fight against COVID-19.

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, the Chancellor of Austria and the Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic, Latvia and Slovenia thank the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council for their tireless efforts to ensure, improve and accelerate the supply of vaccines to all European citizens in difficult circumstances, in record time.

On Friday, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz accused some EU countries, without naming them, of negotiating behind the scenes more vaccines than they would like according to the population. and this has led to an unfair distribution of vaccines among the countries of the bloc.

A senior EU official, who acknowledged receipt of the letter from the five countries, cited the upcoming European Council meeting on March 25-26 as a possible venue for such a discussion, saying that “coordination in the fight against the pandemic it’s on the agenda. ” . “Before each meeting of the European Council, we receive letters to which we respond,” he added, BTA reported.



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