The European Union would impose restrictions on the export of vaccines

Rich countries try to hoard vaccines, says WHO 0:48

(CNN) -

The European Commission could decide this Friday on a "mechanism of transparency and authorization for the export of vaccines" from the European Union, after a dispute with vaccine manufacturers over the reduction of supplies to the bloc, said Eric Mamer , Chief Spokesperson for the Commission.

Two EU officials said Thursday that it was not an export ban;

instead, companies wishing to export coronavirus vaccines from the bloc would have to notify national governments and wait for authorization.

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"Any exporting company would send to the national authorities its plan of what it will export, when, to whom, etc., and in what quantity, and the national authorities will be able to verify it and grant an authorization or a denial," an EU official told journalists.

"That, of course, has to happen very quickly, so it is not about weeks, but about hours," added the official.

Madrid suspends vaccination pending new doses 2:50

Vaccine export ban?

“We are not proposing to impose an export ban, what we want to do is monitor how the EU budget funds that we pay have been used and how the advance purchase agreements that we conclude with pharmaceutical companies are producing vaccines for our citizens,” he said. a second official.

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In a letter to several European leaders on Thursday, European Council President Charles Michel said he "welcomed" the European Commission's proposal.

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Michel added that if "no satisfactory solution is found" with vaccine manufacturers to solve the supply problem, the EU should "make use of all legal means and compliance measures at our disposal".

The new mechanism would not affect humanitarian aid or Covax, the global initiative that aims to distribute some 2 billion vaccines to the poorest countries.

European Union Coronavirus vaccine