Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) has justified the joint approach of the 27 EU countries when purchasing the corona vaccine. “We consider the European path to be the right one,” said Laschet, who is also applying for the CDU federal chairmanship, on Tuesday in Düsseldorf after the federal-state consultations on the further strategy in the fight against the corona virus. “A vaccination competition” between individual EU member states with mutual outbidding competitions on the markets would have had negative consequences for Germany and other countries. “
The US company Pfizer, which, together with the German company Biontech, developed the vaccine that is now the first approved in the EU, has demanded a liability exclusion in Brussels, Laschet criticized. “Europe can only counter this strong market power together.” Therefore, it was important that the EU Commission negotiated for 450 million inhabitants. This path was also confirmed by the Prime Minister on Tuesday. “It was right to secure vaccines for 27 EU countries.”
It was just as correct not to rely on emergency approvals of vaccines in order to be able to start vaccinations faster. In that case, the test procedures would not have been completed, said Laschet. The thorough examination was in the foreground. This is the only way to achieve trust among people.
Of course, you will have to investigate potential errors in the procurement process, said Laschet. There are legitimate questions, such as whether there were the right amounts that need to be clarified. “But the way was still right.”
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