Norway and a number of other countries were on Wednesday removed from the union’s list of countries that are exempt from export control for vaccines against covid-19.
– The EU has previously introduced regulations on the export of vaccines from the EU. We now understand that the EU is considering tightening these. This is serious, writes CEO Karita Bekkemellem in LMI in a letter VG has gained access to.
They fear that the stricter regulations could disrupt the production of vaccines, and prevent vaccines from reaching Europe and other countries.
The background for the tightening is what the EU perceives as an unfair distribution of vaccine doses between the EU and the UK. While the EU itself has allowed the export of 10 million doses to the UK, the EU has not received anything in return.
According to the newspaper, Bekkemellem points out in the letter that the Pfizer vaccine, which is produced in Belgium, consists of 280 different components that are imported from different countries, among them the United Kingdom.
– Further restrictions on exports or vaccination operations in the EU will be detrimental to all patients. We would rather reduce the tension and focus on solutions, the letter states.
Pfizer Norway is also concerned about the development.
– We have been very clear to everyone who wants to listen that free movement of goods across national borders is now absolutely essential. Regulations of exports create an uncertainty we do not need now, says communications manager Joachim Henriksen to the newspaper.
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