Why should we have to go through the European Commission to buy vaccines, without having the ability to buy in parallel?
It is the controversy that is mounting across the Rhine and in France.
"
It is not a constraint
,
it is not prohibited
", confirmed Clément Beaune on the set of "Talk Le Figaro" Friday, ensuring that the European Commission did not put the knife under the throat of anyone: "
We came to an understanding
”.
"
We prefer not to do it,
" he explains, to prevent each country from playing personal and negotiating its own contract.
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Hammering that there is strength in unity, the Secretary of State in charge of European Affairs recalls three concrete reasons: "
We negotiate better with laboratories, including in terms of price, which is not negligible
".
He also underlines the importance of a European health authority, the European Medicines Agency, unique which, contrary to what is said, "
speeds up the procedures instead of slowing them down
,
otherwise we would have to file 27 authorizations
".
Last but not least, Clément Beaune insists on the need to have several vaccines.
Stop “
each his own laboratory
” and the controversy.
If for a time the Germans had this temptation, Angela Merkel has given up.
"
There were discussions, but no finalized contract for 30 million doses that the Germans have reintegrated into a European framework,
" Beaune still tempers.
Clément Beaune on the obligation of tests within the EU: "It is under discussion" - Watch on Figaro Live
Even if our neighbors had negotiated faster by themselves with Pfizer / BioNTech (All), for the first vaccine,
“the second, Moderna, which is currently available in Germany and which is arriving in France, is neither French. nor German, he is American
”.
There is no doubt for the Secretary of State, it is absurd to play individual
“when the solution is necessarily collective in the sense that we will all need several vaccines
”.
As such, it recalls the six European contracts already signed with laboratories and the two billion doses which will “
gradually
”
protect the
entire European population.
So at this stage, confirms the minister, no country has ordered in parallel.
If tomorrow we broke the European framework, "
everyone would go to order on their own, it would be less effective, less protective
", he insists.
There will be enough vaccines for everyone, reassures Clément Beaune.
At a time when Pfizer announces delivery delays, he emphasizes that the question is indeed that of the pace of production.
Border tests
The Prime Minister spoke on Thursday, announcing that nationals of countries outside the EU would undergo a PCR test before entering France.
Not those living in the EU.
But
"it is under discussion",
assures Beaune.
A meeting of European affairs ministers will be held on Monday to see how
"we can coordinate our measures, especially with our direct neighbors"
.
“We will also have a discussion on which tests are the most reliable and recognized across Europe.
At the end of this meeting, it is therefore possible that there will be tests that are required, including for intra-European travel.
“
This is what many Member States are already doing,
” he points out, “this is what France could do next week.
“
It is very important for these measures to coordinate perfectly, (…) and to have a certain number of cases of exemptions or derogations, in particular for cross-border workers.
"
