European Union

The European Commission has addressed the accusations of unfair distributions of COVID vaccines levied against it by member states this week, pointing out that some countries opted not to take up all the vaccines made available to them.

Signed by the EPP Secretary General as well as the President of EPP-CoR Group (also President of Westpomerania Region), this Op’ed stipulates the core importance of the local and regional levels to get the European recovery on track, and how local representatives are a bridge between citizens and Europe as whole.

In an interview aired on Wednesday (17 March), US President Joe Biden said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is "a killer" and warned that he will soon face consequences for directing efforts to swing the 2020 US presidential election in Donald Trump's favour.

The EU's internal market commissioner Thierry Breton has voiced support for the Russian-made vaccine Sputnik V. "Sputnik is a good vaccine, because I think Russians are pretty good scientists, and I wouldn't have any reason to doubt [it]," he told reporters on Wednesday. The Russian vaccine is currently undergoing scrutiny at the EU regulator, the European Medicines Agency.

The Commission is working on a legislative proposal for a European due diligence for supply chains.  

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Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday demanded reciprocity from the UK over vaccine exports. "We are still waiting for doses to come from the UK ... we want to see reciprocity and proportionality in exports, and we are ready to use whatever tool we need to deliver on that," she said. Some 10 million doses have been exported from EU plants to Britain, she said.

The EU said on Wednesday (17 March) it is prepared to tighten COVID vaccine exports to vaccine-producing countries or those with higher vaccination rates if they do not comply with its plea for "openness and reciprocity", in a move seen as a veiled threat to the UK, one of the key vaccine manufacturing countries.

The European Commission is by the end of the year set to propose new rules subjecting companies to stricter controls in a bid to encourage them to ensure suppliers respect human rights and do not harm the environment.

The use of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) as a therapeutic option, despite its ups and downs, has shown the European Union's renewed interest in plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMPs).

On 18 March, the Committees on Foreign Affairs and on Development will vote on the provisional agreement resulting from interinstitutional negotiations establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe. With a proposed budget of €79.5 billion over the period 2021-2027, this instrument will radically overhaul the manner in which the financing of the European Union's external action is administered.
In an effort to streamline existing external financing instruments, the Global Europe Instrument merges ten existing regulations as well as the European Development Fund into one tool. This will make the financing of EU external action more coherent, transparent and flexible, and will allow the EU to effectively uphold and promote its values and interests worldwide.
Landmark deal on new EU Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument
Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Africa and the EU must establish a new partnership as equals, focusing on people's needs and adjusting to the needs of a post-Covid world.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Sweden has joined the growing list of EU countries that have temporarily suspended Astrazeneca vaccinations. The European Medicines Agency is due to announce on Thursday whether its findings indicate that there is a connection between the jab and rare cases of cerebral blood clots. Europe's press is at odds over whether suspending the jabs makes sense - and points to a dilemma.

Britain is realigning its foreign and defence policy after Brexit. Prime Minister Johnson presented the new strategy, called Global Britain, in the House of Commons on Tuesday. It places increased emphasis on nuclear weapons in response to new threats and aims to expand the country's influence in the Indo-Pacific region, which it says has become the world's "geopolitical and economic centre of gravity".