Infographic shared by President von der Leyen showing how many COVID-19 vaccine doses the EU has manufactured

Question for written answer  E-001904/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Margarita de la Pisa Carrión (ECR), Mazaly Aguilar (ECR), Hermann Tertsch (ECR)

On 25 March 2021, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted an infographic showing how many COVID-19 doses the EU had manufactured and exported to other countries[1]. This included 77 million doses to 33 countries comprising China, Saudi Arabia, USA, Argentina, Chile & South Africa, and 31 million doses to COVAX destinations, including Sudan, Mali, Ghana and Honduras.

In the light of the above:

• 1.In order to guarantee trusted procedures for EU-export of vaccines to third countries, the Commission has introduced a transparency authorisation mechanism. Does this mechanism apply to all exports of vaccines or are there exceptions for programmes such as COVAX?
• 2.How is the Commission managing the responsibility that might arise from possible side effects in third countries receiving vaccines exported by the EU? Is it going to ask third countries under the COVAX scheme to set up their own compensation funds in the same way that the Member States have done?
• 3.According to President von der Leyen, the EU has in total exported 77 million doses of vaccines – a number similar to the currently distributed vaccine doses to EU/EEA countries of about 75 million. The EU has in total exported more vaccines than it has been able to supply to its own citizens. How does the Commission explain this very different development?

• [1] https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1375090365254934531?s=20.