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EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen is open to a debate about the US initiative to suspend corona vaccine patents.
"The European Union is ready to discuss any proposal that addresses this crisis effectively and pragmatically," said von der Leyen on Thursday.
We have to see how the US proposal can serve this goal.
"In the short term, however, we are calling on all vaccine-producing countries to allow exports and avoid anything that could disrupt supply chains."
In her speech for a conference in Italy, broadcast online, Von der Leyen emphasized: "To be clear, Europe is the only democratic region in the world that allows exports on a large scale." So far, more than 200 million doses of corona vaccine are in delivered to the rest of the world. That is almost as much as has been administered here in the EU. The EU is the world's pharmacy.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Wednesday signaled support for the suspension of vaccine patents that many countries have long been demanding. The US is behind the protection of intellectual property, but the pandemic is a global crisis that requires extraordinary steps, Tai said. The goal is "to get as many safe and effective vaccinations as quickly as possible to as many people as possible". In Geneva, members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been arguing about the issue for weeks. Further deliberations were due on Thursday.