The European Union should be able to vaccinate all European citizens "
by the end of the summer,
" Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, responsible for the industrial aspects of vaccine manufacturing, said Thursday in Rome.
Read also: Vaccines: faced with the delays of the Commission, these European countries which are turning to China and Russia
“
The situation on vaccines is reassuring.
It is a huge challenge and yet we reacted very quickly
”, declared Thierry Breton during a joint press conference with the Italian Minister of Economic Development Giancarlo Giorgetti.
"
I have great confidence in Europe's ability to deliver vaccines more quickly, and I think that by the end of the summer we will be able to vaccinate all European citizens,
" he says.
"
By the end of the year, Europe will be able to produce 2-3 billion vaccines per year,
" he said.
"
Europe is the leading continent for vaccine production, followed by the United States with two billion (...) Between the EU and the United States, we can count on 5 billion vaccines per year for the whole world,
”he concluded.
These statements came as Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Wednesday evening asked the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to “
accelerate
” the European response to the pandemic, “
especially concerning vaccines
”.
Delays in the delivery of anti-Covid vaccines, the purchase of which was pooled and organized at European level by the Commission, are the subject of criticism in many Member States.
