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VIENNA, March 12 (Reuters) - COVID-19 vaccine doses are not
being distributed evenly within the European Union according to
member states' populations, as was agreed by the bloc, Austrian
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Friday, calling for
transparency and a solution.
Kurz said he and other European leaders had shared their
delivery figures this week to get a clearer picture and found
that there were growing differences between member states.
"Deliveries are not happening in line with population. There
are apparently also plans for this process to be exacerbated in
the coming months and for the differences between member states
to become ever greater," Kurz told a news conference that was
called at an hour's notice.
Malta is on course to have three times more vaccine doses
relative to its population by the end of June than Bulgaria,
Kurz said, adding that some countries would have vaccinated
their populations by May while others would need until late
summer or autumn. Austria is roughly in the middle, he added.
While EU leaders had agreed to the principle of even
distribution per capita, Kurz alleged there were indications of
deals being made with drug companies within the EU's vaccination
steering board that undermined that.
"This body's contracts are secret and I have not seen them.
There are, however, indications that a so-called bazaar took
place there where extra agreements between member states and
pharma companies were reached," he said.
EU officials, including Austrians, have used the term
"bazaar" informally for months to describe the mechanism by
which member states share excess doses among themselves. The
deputy head of the steering board is also Austrian.
Asked about Kurz's comments, a spokesman for the European
Commission said: "Member states may decide to ask less or more
of a given vaccine and this is discussed between member states."
He added: "It is possible in this context, following the
outcome of the discussions between member states, that a new
distribution key is agreed upon with the company following
agreement and discussions with all the member states."
He noted that EU governments can opt out from contracts with
specific companies.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy, additional reporting by
Francesco Guarascio in Brussels;
Editing by Alison Williams and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
