France delays the final signing by the European Union (EU) of the contract with the American company Pfizer and its German partner Biontech for the supply of 1.8 billion doses of vaccine from a new coronavirus until 2023. About it on Friday, the newspaper Die Welt was reported with reference to diplomatic sources.
According to her information, the contract was supposed to be approved by the Board of the European Commission last week, but this did not happen. Unanimous approval is a prerequisite for signing the document and transfer to its community member countries. In many ways, the cause of the breakdown, as DIE WELT indicates, is due to the position of the European Commissioner on the internal market of Thierry Breton, speaking for the extension of vaccine production facilities at the EU level. Breton at the meeting of the board of the EC opposed the Pfizer and Biontech contract. In the European Commission, however, refused to confirm this information.
As the publication writes, the representative of France in the EU Committee for Vaccine Procurement deliberates the process of concluding a contract. Preposition – constantly emerging problems, technical issues and requests for explanation of parts. According to the diplomatic source of the newspaper in the EU, Paris, apparently, seeks to translate into France production facilities for the release of the drug developed by the Biontech Consortium – Pfizer. At the same time, on the territory of France itself, as the publication is reminded, there are no factories engaged in the production of certified mRNA-based vaccines.
On May 6, the head of the European Commission of Ursula von der Lyien reported that the European Union is close to signing a new contract with the American company Pfizer and its German partner Biontech on delivery to the community of 1.8 billion doses of vaccines until 2023. According to her, the EU “Each second vaccinates 30 Europeans.” According to the official strategy of vaccination, approved by the EC, the European Union must complete the immunization of 70% of the adult population by the end of September.