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EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has admitted failures in the procurement of corona vaccines at European level.

The EU underestimated the complications that can arise in the production of such vaccines, said von der Leyen in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” and other European media.

Facing criticism that the EU was too hesitant to order, she said: “Of course: a country can be a speedboat.

And the EU is more of a tanker. "

The German Commission President said: "We have focused very much on the question of whether there will be a vaccine, that is, the development." From today's perspective, one should have "thought more closely about the challenges of mass production in parallel".

The CDU politician added: “We should have told people that things are moving forward, but slowly, and that there will be problems and delays with these completely new procedures.

But we underestimated the complications that can arise. "

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The Commission has ordered up to 2.3 billion vaccine doses from six manufacturers for the 27 EU member states.

However, companies are currently delivering less than hoped or promised.

In the meantime, according to von der Leyen, however, the following applies: “The delivery figures are heading in the right direction.” She also emphasized that all 27 governments were closely involved in the negotiations with the pharmaceutical companies.