French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune said on March 5 that EU solidarity would be seriously affected if EU member states chose Chinese and Russian vaccines for New Crown, which have not yet been approved by the EU, on the issue of procurement of New Crown vaccines by some EU countries bypassing the EU harmonization mechanism and buying vaccines produced in China and Russia.
Earlier, Czech President Zeman’s spokesman Jiri Ovcacek said on the 3rd that Zeman had approved Prime Minister Babiš’s (Andrej Babiš) request to contact China and request the provision of the new crown vaccine produced by China National Pharmaceutical Group. Since then, the Czech Republic will become the second EU member state, after Hungary, to use Chinese vaccines. Last week, Zeman also sent a letter to Russia requesting the vaccine. For his part, Boehner said in an interview with French radio station RTL on the 5th, “We must not leave this EU framework, because I want to remind you that these countries benefit to a large extent from the unity of the EU.” Boehner added, “I say this in a realistic way. They are countries with a limited population and a very small market, if I may say so. If they negotiated all their own purchases, I think they would be in a very difficult position”. He stressed that “EU solidarity is good for us and it’s good for them.”
Boehner said, “Let’s face it, we are going through a difficult period. Solidarity is always more difficult when supplies are scarce.” He noted, “I think we need to improve the EU framework and accelerate. We all have a delivery problem. So we need to accelerate production and vaccination rates. We have told these countries: we will reach the goal of solidarity. We will help countries like the Czech Republic and Slovakia that are in very difficult health situations. I understand that they are looking for solutions somewhat out of desperation. But we will find a solution within the framework of the EU.”
Boehner also warned that “if they go to vaccinations from China or Russia, I think it will be serious.” Boehner stressed that “doing so raises a question of solidarity and a health issue. The Russian vaccine is not yet licensed in Europe, and the Chinese vaccine has not even been applied for.” He said, “These countries may not see the EU dose arrive if they insist on it. We can’t have the benefit of a huge EU framework and then look for country-based solutions that take care of themselves.”
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