The fight for vaccines in the EU: a country that demands more doses threatens to veto 100 million purchases of Pfizer vaccines

This step is the last step of the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, equal to the escalation of the conflict. Kurz wants his country to receive a larger share of the EU vaccine supply, although the data shows that Austria is certainly not one of the countries in greatest need of vaccines. Some politicians fear that this ultimatum could disrupt vaccine supplies at a time when the EU is looking for ways to increase vaccine production and supply.

The dispute concerns a future shipment from BioNTech and Pfizer.

The EU could reach 10 million in the coming months. BioNTech and Pfizer Vaccine Dosage. The delivery of this quantity is foreseen in the second contract with the German-American joint venture. Another 100 million were negotiated at the time of the contract. purchase of vaccine doses: they must complement the 500 million already ordered. lot.

Under the original deal, the 100 million doses were due to be delivered by the end of 2021, but the company reported 10 million. Doses can be delivered until June 30. This report has sparked disputes between EU countries. The basis of the dispute is a population formula for the distribution of vaccines.

Disputes on this issue did not end during a video meeting of EU leaders on March 25. Kurz, who participated in it, repeatedly reiterated his call for a higher dose to be administered to Austria. Although the meeting ended with the leaders reaffirming the distribution scheme based on the population, 10 million. The question of dosages was entrusted to EU ambassadors, so countries most in need were likely to receive larger amounts, writes politico.eu.

Solidarity for one: a one-way street

Austria was reluctant to wait until the ambassadors at least consulted and began to exert more pressure.

At the EU Vaccine Distribution Board meeting on March 26, Austria asked for additional doses during the war. This time, it was even threatened: the Commission would not be able to seize the opportunity to buy an additional € 100 million. shipment of doses if Vienna requirement is not met.

Diplomats in some EU countries were outraged by the threats from Vienna, which would result in the loss of 100 million EU jobs. a dose shipment if no purchase option is set before the expiration date in mid-April. An EU diplomat showed outrage at Austria’s attempt to deprive her of 10 million euros. doses from countries “particularly short on vaccines, such as Latvia and Bulgaria.”

“It shows that Kurz wants to endanger 50 million people. Europeans, and just to get what he doesn’t even need,” said the diplomat.

Another diplomat noted that Austria pays little attention to the needs of other countries.

“Solidarity for one is a one-way street and no one else cares,” he said.

Several EU countries report that Austria is performing better than most of the 27 EU member states in terms of vaccine distribution and coronavirus infection rates. Although initially the country tended to lag behind, in recent weeks it has been among the 10 countries with the fastest vaccination. This can be said based on several criteria: the number of doses delivered per day, the total number of doses delivered per hundred citizens, and the part of the population that received at least one dose of the vaccine.

In terms of the total number of cases per capita since March 2020, Austria is still at the bottom of the EU ranking list and the number of cases registered per day in the country is slightly lower than the EU average.

When asked to comment on member states’ statements, an Austrian government representative did not deny the fact that the Kurz-led government threatened to undermine the option to buy 100 million. dose transaction.

Austria awaits an urgent solution so that the Commission can agree as soon as possible an additional € 100 million. “Acquisition of Pfizer Dose,” said an official in a statement sent by politico.eu from Vienna.

He also mentions that EU countries like the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovenia, Latvia and Bulgaria share Austria’s intentions.

Austria bases its threats on the argument that the new purchase of Pfizer vaccines must be made by consensus of all EU countries. Austria tries to recall that the contract will have to be implemented with the help of the Emergency Support Service and only with the approval of the EU Vaccine Distribution Council, which respects the principles of the intergovernmental agreement.

However, the Austrian logic is not acceptable to most.

Some EU countries, as well as the Commission, have indicated that Austria does not have a legal basis to prevent the acquisition, as broader contracts with BioNTech and Pfizer and an overall EU vaccine strategy have already been approved.

Be that as it may, such actions have led EU lawyers to debate whether it can really be said that Austria’s threats are legally unfounded. In general, the Commission is reluctant to intervene in disputes between EU Member States, and the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union has not yet been involved in analyzing the matter.

The aggressive tactics adopted by Kurz show his willingness to show perseverance in supplying Austria with more BioNTech and Pfizer vaccines than a total of 10 million. shipments of doses to be administered depending on the population. Some diplomats believe that this cavalier move should ultimately pay off, as the leaders are simply not prepared for protracted disputes.

Doubts about the power of threats

Not everyone shares this point of view. Some believe that the Commission will have to continue on its own rather than risk missing additional doses. One politician said Austria had no power to suspend the procurement process, adding that Vienna was free to withdraw from the general vaccine procurement program.

“That threat has no effect because Austria cannot block the joint procurement scheme,” said a diplomat. – However, if Vienna no longer wishes to participate in the joint procurement scheme, it can of course act accordingly. Without a doubt, the other Member States will be willing to buy the part destined for Austria. “

Despite the scant substantiation of Mr Kurz’s claim, this has already been achieved. Kurz not only dominated the leaders’ meeting, but also demanded that the EU Vaccine Distribution Council be deprived of the right to distribute 10 million euros. delivery of doses. This work is to be carried out by EU diplomats and will be carried out on Tuesday.

Heads of State and Government are often contacted when the problems to be solved are too complex for diplomats working in Brussels. According to one of the diplomats, this was the first time that the leaders formally requested the ambassador to solve a problem. The Portuguese Presidency is expected to raise the profile at a meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

It is not yet clear whether Austria will take legal action to prevent the Commission from finalizing the call option. Some diplomats fear that such a move could lead to a total of 100 million. loss of dose.

So far, EU countries seem to agree in principle that between 1 and 2 million doses of the above 10 million. Shipments of this size should go to countries with a higher vaccine deficit, such as Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, and possibly Slovakia and Estonia. Only a few countries, including Poland, do not want administered doses to exceed proportional distribution ratios.

When asked to comment on Warsaw’s position, the Polish diplomat said: “We are still awaiting concrete proposals and an allocation scheme, as they need to be considered. Poland has consistently supported the idea of ​​solidarity. “

The EU proportionality formula gives countries the opportunity to buy as many vaccines as they have, depending on the size of their population. If one of the parties does not wish to acquire the full amount owed to it, other parties may request it.

Some diplomats call Kurz’s pressure an attempt to cover up the fact that, from the beginning, Austria did not want to buy all the doses of BioNTech and the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines that it should have had according to the principle of proportionality.

The first doses of Johnson & Johnson are not expected to be available before the end of April, as these vaccines are being bottled in the US and Washington will not allow them to be exported until the US market is available.

Five countries sought to renegotiate vaccine distribution

In mid-March, it was announced that Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Latvia had convened a European Union summit to discuss the “big differences” in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, according to a letter published on Saturday. .

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz hinted that some EU members could sign “secret contracts” with vaccine companies to receive more doses than they were entitled to under joint bloc agreements.

Mr Kurz and four of his colleagues sent a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. The letter states that “pharmaceutical companies do not evenly distribute vaccine doses to individual EU members.”

“If this system survives, … it will lead to huge differences between Member States for the summer, some of which will lead to this [šalys] you will be able to achieve herd immunity in a few weeks, while others will be left far behind, the letter says. “We therefore urge you … to hold a leadership debate on this important issue as soon as possible.”

Kurz spoke of a “market” where some member states had additional agreements with vaccine companies, but an EU spokesman said countries could “request more or less a specific vaccine.”

The Austrian Ministry of Health also rejected Mr Kurz’s statements and reiterated the EU statement that each Member State could indicate how many different doses of vaccines it wishes to buy.

“They were very proportionate and transparent negotiations,” Secretary General Inés Stilling told the public broadcaster on Saturday.

Negotiating 1 million purchase of doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V

Austria announced on Tuesday that it is negotiating with Russia the possibility of buying 1 million. dose of Sputnik V, which has not yet been approved in the European Union.

In total, 57 countries have licensed Sputnik V, according to Russia’s Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). Hungary, a member of the EU, is already using this Russian vaccine, although it is still being evaluated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s office told AFP on Tuesday that talks had started on February 26 on 300,000. delivery of doses in April, 500 thousand. doses in May and 200 thousand. dose in early June. However, the bureau added that an agreement has not yet been reached.

“If Austria receives an additional million doses of vaccines, we will be able to return to a normal life sooner, saving many lives and jobs,” Kurz said.

“When it comes to vaccines, there should be no geopolitical bandages. The only important thing should be whether the vaccine is effective and safe, not where it came from,” he added.