Austria threatens to block EU purchase of 100 million Pfizer doses. And deals with Russia for Sputnik

Austria threatens to block the EU Commission from securing another 100 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, unless Vienna gets a bigger slice of vaccines. This is what Politico reports - as reported by LaPresse -, citing diplomatic sources from three EU countries. The European Union can receive 10 million additional doses of Pfizer-BioNTech early in the second quarter, which would result from the anticipation of the option of 100 million doses under the second contract with the company and initially contemplated for the third and fourth quarters. of 2021. But a battle has started on this in which the Austrian Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, pushes for his country to receive more doses despite not being among the EU countries most in difficulty. Politico explains that Austria bases its threat on the argument that the new purchase of Pfizer doses would need unanimous authorization among the EU states, but states that not everyone agrees on the legal basis of this reasoning. The newspaper cites several diplomats from EU countries who have expressed indignation at the threat from Austria and the possibility that the EU could lose the 100 million doses if the purchase option is not exercised by the deadline of mid-April. One of the EU diplomats cited, in particular, expressed anger that Vienna would block 10 million doses for member states that "desperately need them, such as Latvia and Bulgaria". Sputnik Austria is in talks with Russia to supply one million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus. This was reported by the Austrian newspaper Die Presse, citing information from the chancellery. The newspaper explains that the negotiations concern the delivery of 300 thousand doses in April, 500 thousand in May and 200 thousand at the beginning of June, but states that a decision on the purchase has not yet been made. The talks began at the end of February: on February 26, the Austrian Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin about possible deliveries of Sputnik V to Austria, reconstructs Die Presse citing the chancellery, adding that the Russian Direct Investment Fund (Rdif), head of the vaccine's international sales, was contacted the same day; then on March 5 Kurz would have talked with the president of Rdif, Kirill Dmitriev, and since then there would have been video calls and phone calls with Rdif and with the Russian ambassador to Austria, Dmitri Ljubinski Kurz declared today that there should be no "geopolitical blinders" on vaccines and that "the only thing that matters is whether the vaccine is safe and effective, not where it came from." Until now Kurz had always indicated European approval as a condition for a handover to Austria

Sebastian Kurz (AP Photo / Ronald Zak)

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March 31, 2021 - Austria threatens to block the EU Commission from securing another 100 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, unless Vienna gets a bigger slice of vaccines. This is what Politico reports - as reported by LaPresse -, citing diplomatic sources from three EU countries.

The European Union can receive 10 million additional doses of Pfizer-BioNTech early in the second quarter, which would result from the anticipation of the option of 100 million doses under the second contract with the company and initially contemplated for the third and fourth quarters of 2021. But a battle has started on this in which the Austrian Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, pushes for his country to receive more doses despite not being among the EU countries most in difficulty.

Politico explains that Austria bases its threat on the argument that the new purchase of Pfizer doses would need unanimous authorization among the EU states, but states that not everyone agrees on the legal basis of this reasoning.

The newspaper cites several diplomats from EU countries who have expressed indignation at the threat from Austria and the possibility that the EU could lose the 100 million doses if the purchase option is not exercised by the deadline of mid-April.

One of the EU diplomats cited, in particular, expressed anger that Vienna would block 10 million doses for member states that "desperately need them, such as Latvia and Bulgaria".

Sputnik

Austria is in talks with Russia to supply one million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus. This was reported by the Austrian newspaper Die Presse, citing information from the chancellery. The newspaper explains that the negotiations concern the delivery of 300 thousand doses in April, 500 thousand in May and 200 thousand at the beginning of June, but states that a decision on the purchase has not yet been made.

The talks began at the end of February: on February 26, the Austrian Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin about possible deliveries of Sputnik V to Austria, reconstructs Die Presse citing the chancellery, adding that the Russian Direct Investment Fund (Rdif), head of the vaccine's international sales, was contacted the same day; then on March 5 Kurz would have talked with the president of Rdif, Kirill Dmitriev, and since then there would have been video calls and phone calls with Rdif and with the Russian ambassador to Austria, Dmitri Ljubinski

Kurz declared today that there should be no "geopolitical blinders" on vaccines and that "the only thing that matters is whether the vaccine is safe and effective, not where it came from." Until now Kurz had always indicated European approval as a condition for a handover to Austria

Austria threatens to block EU purchase of 100 million Pfizer doses. And deals with Russia for Sputnik

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