The EU wants to prevent the outflow of vaccine doses to countries that produce their own and do not export them to Europe.
The first country targeted by these new rules is the United Kingdom.
The EU decided this Wednesday to place Covid vaccine exports produced on its soil under strict surveillance to prevent the outflow of doses needed by Europeans to other countries.
A system implemented by Brussels at the end of January already required, before any vaccine export, the approval of the member state from which the doses departed and the Commission. About 300 authorizations have been issued since then, to send 40 million doses to 33 countries. The European executive intends to tighten the export conditions to countries that produce their own Covid vaccines without sending them back to the EU.
The EU exported about 10 million doses, of all vaccines combined, to the United Kingdom between February 1st and mid-March. However, it did not receive any doses produced on British soil in return. The company explained that its contract with London obliged it to prioritize British orders.
