EU's 'Vaccine Battle' Sees Progress as AstraZeneca Commits to Boost Deliveries
AstraZeneca
Biopharmaceutical Manufacturer
European Union
The European Union (German: Europäische Union; French: Union européenne), abbreviated as the EU, is headquartered in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. It evolved from the European Communities and originally had six founding member states: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The Union currently has 28 member states and 24 official languages.In December 1991, the European Council meeting in Maastricht adopted the Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty. On November 1, 1993, the Maastricht Treaty officially entered into force, marking the formal establishment of the European Union. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.Donald Tusk serves as President of the European Council, and Antonio Tajani is President of the European Parliament. Jean-Claude Juncker, former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, is President of the European Commission.The EU’s treaties have been amended multiple times, and its operations are governed by the Treaty of Lisbon. Politically, all member states are democracies (according to The Economist’s 2008 Democracy Index). Economically, it constitutes the world’s second-largest economic entity (with Germany, France, and Italy being members of the G8). Militarily, the vast majority of EU member states are also members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Comprehensive Report: In recent days, the vaccine supply dispute between the European Union and UK-based AstraZeneca has drawn widespread attention. According to the latest updates, the EU’s “vaccine defense campaign” has made progress. On January 31 (local time), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that AstraZeneca had committed to increasing its vaccine deliveries to the EU by 30%, and that the EU would maintain its goal of vaccinating 70% of its population with COVID-19 vaccines before the summer.
According to reports, von der Leyen stated on Twitter on January 31 that the EU would be able to maintain its original target of vaccinating 70% of EU citizens with COVID-19 vaccines before this summer.
Ursula von der Leyen announced that AstraZeneca would increase its vaccine deliveries to the European Union by 30%, amounting to an additional 9 million doses. Previously, AstraZeneca had projected reducing its originally planned delivery of approximately 80 million doses to the EU by the end of March to just 31 million doses, sparking strong dissatisfaction within the European Union.
Von der Leyen also stated that AstraZeneca would supply vaccines to the European Union one week ahead of schedule and expand vaccine production in Europe.
On January 22, AstraZeneca PLC of the United Kingdom announced that, due to production capacity constraints, vaccine deliveries to the European Union in the first quarter of the year would be reduced from the originally planned 80 million doses to 31 million doses, prompting dissatisfaction from the EU. Subsequent crisis talks between the two parties ended without resolution. On the evening of January 29, the EU stated it would invoke a clause in the Brexit agreement signed with the UK to restrict vaccine exports from the EU to the UK. However, following telephone conversations between EU and UK leaders, the EU softened its stance on January 30 and no longer mentioned the aforementioned clause.