Advertisement

Austria and Denmark chided by EU ally over Israel vaccine plan

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
Austria and Denmark chided by EU ally over Israel vaccine plan
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz attend a meeting on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels, Belgium February 20, 2020. Virginia Mayo/Pool via REUTERS

France has criticised a push by Austria and Denmark to coordinate with Israel on developing new Covid-19 jabs, as EU unity frays even further over its troubled vaccine rollout. 

Advertisement

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced the Israeli partnership on Monday, saying the European Medicines Agency (EMA) was "too slow in approving vaccines" leaving the bloc vulnerable to supply bottlenecks at pharmaceutical companies.

READ ALSO: Denmark and Austria to agree partnership with Israel on Covid-19 vaccines

But France's foreign ministry defended the agency and insisted that "the most effective solution for meeting our vaccination needs must remain within a European framework".

"This is what guarantees the solidarity among member states that is more essential than ever," it said in a statement late Wednesday.

European officials are under pressure to step up vaccination drives that have lagged behind those of other countries, including Israel  and Britain, which approved coronavirus vaccines several weeks before the EMA.

Advertisement

"We should not be solely dependent on the EU any more," Kurz said ahead of a trip to Israel with his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen on Thursday to agree on common production of future vaccines and cooperation on research.

Austria's neighbours Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic have already bypassed the EMA to approve Russian and Chinese coronavirus vaccines.

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian acknowledged on Wednesday "significant" shortcomings in the EU's vaccination policies, but criticised what he called "attempts at secession".

European nations should instead pool their resources to increase vaccine production capacity in Europe, "something we are in the process of doing", the ministry said in its statement.

"The approval process for the European market has also been reviewed, with the introduction of 'emergency procedures' for vaccines targeting new variants," it added.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also