EU would have rejected Covid-19 vaccine requests

The European Commission says its rules are very clear about exporting to non-EU countries, suggesting that even if the Australian government had made any requests for vaccine exports, they would have been rejected.

A health worker holds an empty vial of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in Schwelm, Germany, on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

The European Commission says its rules are very clear about exporting to countries outside of the European Union, suggesting that even if AstraZeneca or the Australian government had made any requests for vaccine exports, they would have been rejected.

In a press briefing from Brussels on Wednesday, the Commission said it had been in talks with the Australian government, but that it would not detail the substance of discussions.

“We do not comment on contacts which exist with the EC and various actors when it comes to distribution of vaccines,’’ the Commission’s chief spokesperson Eric Mamer said.

Mr Mamer said withdrawals of requests or any communications with Australian authorities under the export mechanism are made by the pharmaceutical companies.

“When comes to export, the (EU) rules and principles are very clear and pharmaceutical companies are aware of the rules and decisions and it’s their decision if they go ahead to make the export request,’’ he said.

The European Commission said, as of Wednesday, it is not aware of any ongoing request for vaccines to be exported to Australia.

In a statement to The Australian, the Commission said: “Currently the Commission is not aware of any ongoing request for the export of doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from the EU to Australia.’’

The European Commission is the executive branch of the EU, which manages the day-to-day business of the EU, including implementing its rules.

Last month The Australian reported how AstraZeneca vaccine exports to Australia are unlikely to restart because of the tougher controls on future shipments of the vaccine outside of the European bloc.

At the time Australia had one international shipment of 250,000 doses cancelled by the Italian government after seeking approval for its actions from Brussels, and future supplies to fulfil Australia’s international order doses were set to be abandoned for several months, if not permanently, based on a new export authorisation mechanism.

This new rule was based on “proportionality” of what the EU considers to be fair, rather than contractual deals that look at the reciprocity of vaccines, the epidemiological situation in the non-EU country, its vaccination rate and the existing availability of COVID-19 vaccines.

The EU, which was slow to sign vaccine deals, wants EU-made vaccines to be used to vaccinate only EU citizens, amid an embarrassingly low rollout of doses across the continent.