The letter addressed to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was signed by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Czech Prime Minister Andrei Babis and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

They noted that they face a number of challenges related to the distribution of vaccines and consider it important to start a timely dialogue with the manufacturers of future drugs.

Timing is of the essence, they said, so the speed of contract negotiations with all promising new candidates needs to be maintained.

“Needless to say, all new vaccines must be approved as soon as possible, while meeting the necessary medical requirements,” the message says.

Earlier, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell expressed the hope that the European regulator would allow the use of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in the EU.