(Adds details, background)
PARIS, March 24 (Reuters) - The European Union shouldn't be
the "useful idiot" of the COVID-19 pandemic by exporting
vaccines while other countries keep supplies for themselves, a
French official said on Wednesday, backing plans for tougher
rules on vaccine exports.
"Europe shouldn't be a sort of useful idiot in the battle
against the virus," the French presidential adviser told
reporters ahead of a virtual EU summit on Thursday.
The European Commission will extend EU powers to potentially
block COVID-19 vaccine exports to Britain and other areas with
much higher vaccination rates, and to cover instances of
companies backloading contracted supplies, EU officials have
said.
The regulation is aimed at making vaccine trade reciprocal
and proportional so that other vaccine-making countries sell to
Europe and the EU does not export much more than it imports, one
EU official said.
France will support this updated EU system, the French
official said. "We have exported a lot (of vaccines), we've
played by the rules. The same can't be said about some of our
partners," he said.
The EU had no interest in entering some sort of "blame game"
with Britain on vaccine exports, the official said, adding EU
politicians had nothing to gain from the row in the eyes of
their own public opinion.
"As far as we're concerned, we have no willingness, no
interest in fuelling permanent controversy with Britain."
(Reporting by Michel Rose. Editing by Alison Williams and Mark
Potter)