VIENNA (Reuters) – The European Commission on Saturday defended its policy of distributing COVID-19 vaccines uniformly in the bloc after Austria and five other member states complained that the doses were not distributed equally.
In a joint letter to the Commission and the European Council, leaders from six European countries, including the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Latvia and, later, Croatia, requested discussions on the distribution of vaccines.
The Commission replied that the doses were distributed in proportion to the population of each country and taking into account the epidemiological data, adding that it was up to the governments of the member states to decide how to distribute them.
A flexible policy agreed by EU governments means that countries facing a more acute phase of the epidemic could have access to more doses, if some governments choose not to assume their pro rata allocation, the EU executive said in a statement.
“It would be up to the Member States to reach an agreement if they wanted to return to the pro rata base,” he said, adding that he supported an allocation method based exclusively on a pro rata of the population of each EU nation.
The Commission has been criticized for the bloc’s slow implantation of the vaccine, although EU governments play a major role in purchasing vaccines and vaccination plans.
On Friday, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that doses of the vaccine were not being distributed equally among member states, despite an agreement within the bloc to do so according to the population. He blamed, without providing evidence, separate agreements signed between the EU’s vaccination board and pharmaceutical companies.
The letter from Kurz and his counterparts, addressed to the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, called for “a European solution”.
“In the past few days … we have found that … deliveries of vaccine doses by pharmaceutical companies to individual EU member states are not being implemented on an equal basis according to the population key pro rata,” said the letter, published in Austrian media.
“Therefore, we invite you, Charles, to discuss this important issue among leaders as soon as possible.”
Malta is in the process of having three times more doses of vaccine compared to its population by the end of June than Bulgaria, said Kurz.
The letter does not mention the steering group, which is the body that negotiates vaccines with companies on behalf of EU states. The deputy head of the board is Austrian.
Opposition parties have accused Kurz of trying to deflect the blame for the slow pace of self-vaccinations. Social Democrats said he was looking for “scapegoats for his failure”.
An EU official said Michel had received the letter and that a summit of leaders was already planned for March 25 and 26.
“COVID’s coordination will again be addressed by the 27 members during this meeting,” said the official, without specifying whether this includes the distribution of the vaccine.
Michel’s office declined to comment.
Reporting by François Murphy; Additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio in Brussels, edited by Alexandra Hudson and Clelia Oziel