The Covid pandemic is experiencing twists and turns in Europe with the circulation of different variants.
Pascal Canfin, however, says he is confident because "we can think that in the summer of 2021, around half of the European population may have been vaccinated" but he underlines the importance of precautionary measures "in a very difficult context".
"First MEP to have had access to the CureVac contract" [the German biopharmaceutical company with which the European Commission has contracted for at least 225 million doses of messenger RNA vaccine, ndrl], he is "quite agree with the principle according to which, during the negotiation, this one does not have to be transparent "but" calls for more transparency of the contracts "once this negotiation is finished.
He regrets "not having had access to all the articles", some having been "unfortunately highlighted in black" and recalls that "transparency is" an important element of democratic debate "because" in the absence of transparency, everything anyone can do anything and especially say anything ".
He does not believe in the effectiveness of "vaccinodromes", but recognizes that "there is no magic doctrine in the matter" and that we "will learn by walking".
He agrees that in France, "the start of the vaccination campaign was a little slow", but affirms that "the pace is accelerating and that the objective is to vaccinate half of the French population by summer".
He wishes the success of vaccination campaigns in Europe, which are in "the interests of health, economic health and in the interest of our societies", but "so that they succeed and so that the European framework is consolidated. , because this European framework is a good thing, things must be transparent and be on the table "and he" wishes to stress that France is at this stage, along with Denmark, the only European country to have made public the rate of access to doses "for its citizens.
As for the establishment of a vaccination passport proposed by Greece, he thinks that this "does not make sense" for the moment but that "it is a legitimate debate" which can be held "when all Europeans who want it will have had access to the vaccine, probably from June. "
Protection of the environment and biodiversity
In a recent tweet, environmental activist Greta Thunberg denounces the ineffectiveness of the One Planet Summit held in Paris, in the presence of representatives of 50 states and international NGOs.
Even if he recognizes the legitimacy of the activist who is "in his role", he nevertheless underlines that the NGOs present have "welcomed the commitments which have been made" by the States, which in particular "committed themselves to moving towards 30 % of their own land and sea territory protected ".
It "fits into this positive dynamic so that we finally address this question" of the protection of biodiversity.
He also recalls that the pandemics that the world has known over the past 10 years "were all linked to the passage of a virus from the animal world, domestic or wild, to humans. Which means that the question of our relationship to nature is absolutely fundamental, including in economic terms. "
This is why he wants "the Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded this year to IPBES", which fights for the protection of biodiversity.
"15 years after the IPCC that would be a very strong message".
For the sake of "consistency", he recalls that "MEPs are widely opposed to signing a trade agreement with Brazil" and welcomes the election of Joe Biden, who is "likely to change the gives on the climatic subject, but also on this subject of the protection of nature ".
Program prepared by Céline Schmitt and Isabelle Romero.
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