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Ten million doses of Biontech / Pfizer vaccines can be shipped to the EU in the second quarter instead of the third quarter, a stroke of luck for the EU. Really. Then the dispute over distribution began: Usually, EU countries are assigned quantities according to their population. However, under the Portuguese Presidency, five Member States that have very few vaccines should receive more support: Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia and Slovakia.
Together, the countries should receive 2.85 million additional doses, and the rest, consequently, less. Another 19 EU countries participated in the solidarity campaign. Germany gave up half a million doses of vaccines.
“It is an important signal in the crown crisis that the vast majority in the EU show solidarity with countries particularly affected by the vaccine shortage,” an EU diplomat told SPIEGEL. However, led by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, half a dozen countries had demanded a larger stake because they were at a disadvantage in the earlier vaccine distribution.
In their assessment, Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia and Slovakia put too much emphasis on the AstraZeneca vaccine for their orders, which are now experiencing massive delivery problems. In Austria, however, no need for compensation was seen. In the negotiations, Slovenia and the Czech Republic also called for greater consideration.
The EU diplomat said: “It is regrettable that Austria, Slovenia and the Czech Republic are leaving and refusing to show this gesture of solidarity. This is completely incomprehensible, as Austria and the Czech Republic in particular benefited from EU solidarity only recently and each received 100,000 additional doses of vaccine. “
“Chancellor Kurz behaved at odds with solidarity”
Austria now missed the solidarity campaign and only gets its normal share based on population. However, Chancellor Kurz was pleased that his country received 199,000 cans of the additional Biontech / Pfizer shipment in the second quarter. That was “a solid result,” he said after a statement circulated in Brussels. However, at the start of the distribution dispute, Kurz expected around 400,000 cans.
“Chancellor Kurz behaved in a lack of solidarity and left Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia and Slovakia in the lurch,” said an EU diplomat. “Austria has suffered serious land damage in Europe.”
