ROME, March 26 (EFE): Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi confirmed today that the European Union will not prevent the export of vaccines produced in its territory to the United Kingdom, as this would cut off industrialization and generate political tension.
“A complete siege cuts off the composition of the vaccine because some ingredients are produced in other places, and it creates a state of political tension and a similar reaction is expected. We should not, and we will not, reach this,” he said in a press conference.
The European Union has reformed the export mechanism to prevent pharmaceutical companies from selling medicines produced on the territory of the European Union to third countries, and it will be taken into account if they also export doses to the European Union and their residents have already been vaccinated.
The 27 countries have exported 77 million doses since December, according to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, of which 21 million have gone to the United Kingdom, while not a single vaccine has arrived from London.
Draghi criticized, “I think that the blockade should be with companies that do not respect the agreements. One gets the impression that some companies have sold things two or three times.”
The Italian Prime Minister considered that this situation is produced by producing more vaccines, and not focusing on preventing their export.
“It is the only thing that will make us leave and restore our confidence that we will be able to travel without fear of contracting the disease and build our relationships again,” he said.
Draghi said the new mechanism in the first place prevents the export of vaccines to companies that have not honored contracts with Europe, such as AstraZeneca.
Now the European Union has included in the new provisions the concepts of “proportionality and reciprocity”.
To prevent export to a third country, as Italy did with a batch bound for Australia, Europe will also take into account whether or not that recipient country exports and whether it has a high percentage of the population that has already been vaccinated. EFE
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