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Under pressure, the EU stated that compared with the proposed abandonment of patent rights, the EU now has another option to increase production more effectively, and the United States has now abandoned this proposal.
The European Union has proposed a plan that is believed to be more effective in helping to increase the production and supply of the COVID-19 vaccine than the proposed abandonment of patent rights supported by the United States.
Under pressure from developing countries, the European Union demanded the abandonment of intellectual property rights for vaccines and treatments. The European Union proposed another alternative on Wednesday, focusing on export restrictions, vaccine developers’ commitments and the flexibility of current World Trade Organization (WTO) rules Sex.
The head of the World Trade Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Monday that the world has reached the “vaccination apartheid” situation, and poorer countries, which account for half of the population, only accepted 17% of the vaccine.
EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told the European Parliament that universal and fair access is a top priority for the international community.
In a debate on global vaccine access, Dombrovskis told parliamentarians that the EU is prepared to participate in the review of the temporary exemption of the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Agreement and the extent to which it has promoted vaccines. Popularity.
Since October, India and South Africa have been urging other WTO members to cancel the intellectual property rights of vaccines to ensure their supply to the world.Last week, US President Joe Biden (Joe Biden) once again broke out the debate on the issue Support this idea.
The EU and other opponents say this will not increase vaccine production.
The Vice President of the European Commission stated that the most effective way to achieve universal use is to increase production, share more vaccines and make them affordable.
Dombrowskis said that the EU plan has three elements.
He said that export restrictions should be kept to a minimum, and emphasized that half of the vaccines produced in EU countries are exported. French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday urged Washington to lift restrictions on exports of vaccines and vaccine ingredients.
Dombrowskis said that vaccine manufacturers and developers should also make specific commitments to increase supply to vulnerable developing countries at production costs.
Finally, Dombrovskis emphasized the existing WTO rules, and countries can grant licenses to manufacturers even without the consent of the patent holder. If such manufacturers provide vaccines at cost, the copyright owner should not profit from the payment.
The committee will submit the plan to WTO members in early June. The committee stated that the plan may be implemented much faster than the waiver of exemptions. This will require changes to WTO rules and may take several months. To complete.
The European Parliament will vote on an intellectual property exemption resolution in June, although Wednesday’s debate revealed clear differences between green groups that favor left-leaning and green groups opposed to right-leaning.
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