Latvia and 5 other EU countries demand the elimination of "huge inequalities" in the distribution of vaccines

The leaders of Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Slovenia said in a letter to senior EU officials that the current system “will continue to create and increase huge inequalities between member states until the summer, with some able to achieve crowd immunity in a few weeks’ time.”

Croatia later joined the initiative on Saturday.

A letter to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Commission (EC), Urzula von der Leien, called for “a discussion between leaders on this important issue as soon as possible”.

According to the EU’s vaccination strategy, Member States gain access to approved vaccines at the same time, and the amount allocated to each is proportional to its population.

However, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Friday that vaccine doses were not distributed proportionally among member states and that additional supply contracts had been concluded as a result of non-transparent EU negotiations.

According to Kurz, the Netherlands and Denmark have access to significantly higher doses of vaccine per capita than Member States such as Bulgaria or Croatia.

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The EC contracts with pharmaceutical companies on behalf of the Member States, which can choose how many doses to buy under pre-supply contracts.

The Heads of Government of the five countries have criticized current distribution practices, which run counter to the EU’s agreement on proportional distribution.

EU officials have acknowledged receipt of the letter. “We are watching the situation closely,” one official said, adding that co-ordination to combat Covid-19 would be discussed at the summit on March 25 and 26.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands on Saturday rejected Austria’s claims that it had purchased additional doses of vaccines outside the EU’s joint procurement.

The Netherlands receives vaccines through the EU distribution mechanism, but exercises its discretion, the Ministry of Health told DPA.

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If a country renounces the amount of doses allocated to it, then it becomes available to other Member States, which has also been used by the Netherlands, the ministry added.

1.4 million Dutch people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, but more than 400,000, or about 2.5% of the population, have already received both doses.