Vaccines: the EU fears the "Europe first" approach

By Tobias Kaiser and Stefanie Bolzen

(Die Welt)

To discover

• Test, isolation: the procedure to follow in the event of a suspicion of Covid-19

The EU refuses to give in to vaccine nationalism in this time of the coronavirus crisis.

Since the start of vaccine production, European manufacturers have exported doses of Covid-19 vaccine around the world.

So far, Brussels, the German government and other key national governments have consistently rejected the implementation of export bans or the production of vaccines exclusively for Europe.

After all, that would contradict the fundamental principles of the Union, namely international cooperation, open markets and free trade - all principles which should also apply in times of crisis.

Read also: EU threatens to ban vaccine exports to certain countries

However, in view of the delays in the European vaccination campaign, this approach is the subject of an increasing number of criticisms.

Because while there is a shortage of vaccine doses in Europe, the EU exports millions of them all over the world.

A dilemma

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