Commissioner Stella Kyriakides eudebates vaccine export controls

‘No other choice but to act,’ says Valdis Dombrovskis. The EU today passed a regulation instructing its customs authorities to block all COVID-19 vaccine exports to some 100 countries worldwide, unless they receive an export authorization from national governments in the EU. https://www.eudebates.tv/debates/eu-policies/business-eu-policies/eu-astrazeneca-logic-can-only-work-at-the-neighbourhood-butchers/

"Today, the European Commission has adopted an implementing regulation making the export of certain products subject to an export authorization," trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis said at a press conference. "The challenges we now face left us with no other choice but to act."

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Some 92 countries, are exempt from the regulation, Dombrovskis said. An EU official specified these include the EFTA countries of Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Iceland, along with the Western Balkans, North African countries, and other Mediterranean countries such as Lebanon and Israel, as well as poor countries covered by the COVAX facility.

The United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and other rich countries will however not be exempt, the official added.

While the decision to grant or refuse export authorizations will lie with member countries' governments, the European Commission will issue binding opinions, Dombrovskis said.

Crucially, the regulation will also force vaccine makers to disclose which countries they shipped vaccines to in the past three months. "Companies applying for export authorization will also have to provide information on their exports and export destinations, quantities and so on, for the period covering three months prior to entering into force of this regulation, " Dombrovskis said. "So I think this will also help to shed a full light on export tendencies in recent weeks and months."
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We have been working for the best part of the past year to support vaccine producers in developing vaccines; to invest EU money for them to expand production capacity and to ensure the supply of vaccines for the EU and beyond.

Our goal has always been singular: to bring safe and effective vaccines to citizens as soon as possible.

For this reason, we signed advanced purchase agreements and provided pre-financing so that companies build the necessary manufacturing capacity to produce vaccines so deliveries can start as soon they are authorized.

We did not want to waste a single day.

The EU, together with its Member States, has been consistently there to support companies, regulators and distribution.

We mobilised over €2 billion from our Emergency Support Instrument for this purpose.

By investing in science and industry, we did manage to find solutions as challenges appeared and we want to continue to do so.