EU leaders criticize IP waiver for vaccines

LISBON, Portugal－European Union leaders cranked up their criticism of the US call to waive COVID-19 vaccine patents on Saturday, arguing the move would yield no short-term or intermediate improvement in vaccine supplies and could even have a negative impact.

The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday that leaders of EU countries understand there are "more pressing issues "than waiving patents on vaccines against COVID-19. She made the remarks at the end of the two-day social summit of the European Union held in the Portuguese city of Porto.

Speaking to journalists, von der Leyen said the topic "is important", but will be discussed "in the long term, not in the short or medium term".

Europe should not "lose sight of the main urgencies", which are "production of vaccines as soon as possible and how they will be distributed in a fair and equitable way", she said.

"We don't think, in the short term, that it's the magic bullet," European Council President Charles Michel said. French President Emmanuel Macron insisted giving any priority now to a discussion of intellectual property rights "is a false debate".

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, home to many big pharma companies, went the farthest of all, cautioning that relaxing patent rules could harm efforts to adapt vaccines as the virus mutates.

Von der Leyen stressed "the European Union is the pharmacy of the world".

"Up to today, 400 million doses of vaccines have been produced in the European Union. And 50 percent of them－200 million doses－have been exported to 90 different countries in the world. So we invite others to do the same," she said.

"This is the best way, in the short term, to address bottlenecks and lack of vaccines worldwide."

The United States on Wednesday agreed to support waiving IP restrictions on COVID-19 vaccines at the World Trade Organization.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Saturday the proposal to suspend patents on COVID-19 vaccines "will not guarantee an increase in the supply of vaccines".

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said the EU has been "exemplary" in its contribution to the COVAX mechanism, which helps the poorest countries have access to vaccines.

"At the European Council, we are all aware that no one will be protected until there is a global immunization. EU member states have been contributing to support the countries most in need," he said at the end of the social summit.

Twenty-four of the 27 EU heads of state and government attended the two-day meeting to set the bloc's social agenda for the next decade.

Xinhua - Agencies