Vaccine squabbles and carrots instead of sticks for Turkey - the EU is faced with delicate questions at its summit.
Chancellor Angela Merkel raises profound questions in advance.
Brussels / Berlin - The EU heads of state and government have tackled difficult topics for their summit on Thursday: On the one hand, there is how to deal with the eternal quarrels about Turkey and its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan * - but not Europe for reasons of migration policy want to scratch.
And on the other hand, the highly explosive subject of vaccines: on Thursday afternoon, a problem was already looming.
In addition, the virtual meeting, which is scheduled for two days, could fundamentally be: Chancellor Angela Merkel * (CDU) demanded a relentless analysis of the weaknesses of the international community in advance.
In a government statement in the Bundestag, Merkel said before the beginning of the summit that there was still a lot to do in dealing with the corona pandemic.
Corona vaccine controversial topic at the EU summit: Brief vs. Germany - Austria wants more vaccine
First of all there is a very practical argument.
Because Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz * continues to insist that some EU countries get additional corona vaccine.
Germany previously wanted to exclude Austria of all places: As data from the European Health Authority ECDC shows, Austria is currently not one of those countries that are lagging behind in vaccination compared to other EU countries.
Apparently in contrast to the other five countries with which the Kurz pacts: In addition to Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Latvia complained.
However, Kurz was optimistic: The 34-year-old sees progress in the negotiations, as he made clear on Thursday before the EU video summit.
“I believe that there is now more and more understanding that a balance is needed in Europe.” Hopes rest on an early delivery of ten million cans from Biontech / Pfizer *.
It could plug some vaccine holes in the EU.
Before the summit, however, no agreement was reached on how the cans could be distributed.
Vaccination: EU thinks about export controls, Great Britain pours fuel on fire - "Our treaty trumps theirs"
Another hot topic is export controls on vaccines.
In view of ongoing delivery problems with corona vaccines, the EU summit wants to speak out in favor of controlling exports to third countries.
The manufacturers of the vaccines would have to meet their contractual delivery dates, according to the draft of the summit declaration.
The background to this is in particular the dispute with the British-Swedish manufacturer Astrazeneca *.
According to the EU Commission, it should deliver 120 million cans in the first quarter.
Now it will be 30 million cans at best.
The EU Commission had already tightened the EU export rules significantly on Wednesday because of the dispute.
Export bans are now possible if a target country produces vaccine itself but does not export it, or if its population has already been largely vaccinated.
The focus is primarily on Great Britain.
The EU suspects that Astrazeneca gives preference to the British - including vaccines that are produced in the EU.
According to the EU Commission, 21 million cans have so far gone to the UK.
In total, the EU exported 77 million cans.
+
Charles Michel (left) speaks to the EU heads of state and government during the video summit.
© Yves Herman / dpa
The British Minister of Health Matt Hancock once again poured fuel on the fire with statements made in interviews.
Great Britain has "an exclusive contract" with Astrazeneca *, he told the
Financial Times
.
“Our contract trumps theirs.
It's called contract law - it's that simple. ”However, there were also warnings from the ranks of the EU states about export bans.
It is not advisable to endanger the global vaccine value chain because of "a single black sheep", said an EU diplomat.
After all, there are no problems with companies like Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna.
In the meantime, Germany also asked for the Russian vaccine Sputnik V * to be ordered through the EU.
Berlin called on the EU Commission on Wednesday to start talks on this "promptly".
Sputnik V is not yet approved in the EU.
Berlin points out, however, that contracts for the other vaccines were also concluded prior to approval.
Erdogan's Turkey: EU tries the carrot - expanded customs union could come
And then there is the ongoing topic of Turkey.
Shortly after the beginning of the summit, it became known that concrete rewards for a further de-escalation of the gas dispute in the eastern Mediterranean should be promised to the country.
According to a draft for the final declaration, the EU Council of Ministers could shortly begin preparing negotiations on an expanded customs union with the economically troubled Turkey, as
reported by
the
dpa
.
Turkey has long been unsuccessful in demanding that all Turks be allowed to travel to EU countries without a visa.
Regardless of the further developments in the natural gas dispute, according to the draft of the summit declaration, the EU intends to expand cooperation with Turkey in areas such as border protection and the fight against illegal migration and to improve the return of irregular migrants and rejected asylum seekers to Turkey. As an incentive for this, the EU Commission is to prepare further financial aid for the care of Syrian refugees. The current cooperation with Turkey on migration policy is based primarily on a refugee pact concluded in 2016 - which, despite all hopes, shows sometimes shocking results, as
Merkur.de
* reports. (
dpa / AFP / fn
)
