Merci beaucoup Ursula (von der Leyen) […], thank you very much Mario (Draghi) and well done for this initiative. It was important to come together, even if it’s virtual, but we are all wholeheartedly in Italy, in Rome, for this G20 summit on health.
We are facing a global shock and it is a shock that puts us under pressure. Which shakes us on the health plan, on the economic plan, on the social plan. It was also a shock that put our most personal freedoms under pressure. And we are in a difficult time because we are in the middle of a battle. It is a race against time to defeat COVID-19 and at the same time, and this is also the meaning of this meeting, we must prepare the world for COVID-19.
There is obviously a first point which is essential, many have said it and I also want to support this message: we must all work hand in hand to ensure equitable and comprehensive access to vaccines. It is a shared responsibility. We must all be engaged in this battle.
There are several concrete things that we must do in order to be able to act. First, it is the responsibility of all of us, the members of the G20, to secure supply chains. It is our responsibility to guarantee exports as well. And, as many have said before me, the European Union, since it has been able to produce vaccines, has ensured that, in fact, around 50% of the doses produced on European soil can be exported, including under the COVAX initiative.
The third point, and many have also said it, is the importance of strengthening production capacities everywhere and especially on the African continent. But I am not forgetting Latin America either. Over the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to speak directly with several African leaders, who have sounded the alarm. And it is in this spirit that with the European Commission, but also with an important role played by the World Trade Organization, and I want to salute the involvement of Mrs Ngozi, we developed this idea of a third way. , public-private partnership, with the mobilization of financial capacities to deal very concretely with these questions not only related to intellectual property, but also to technology transfers and the transfer of know-how. In order, as soon as possible, to be able to meet this objective.
Finally, the European Union is also mobilized to accelerate capacities through our Member States and the European Commission, to make doses available for our partners, especially for the most vulnerable regions. We were hired to initiate and strongly support the COVAX project or the ACT-A project.
And then there is a second point that I would like to touch on briefly: prepare for the future, be more robust, make the world more resilient. I naturally subscribe to the call made by the independent panel, which encourages a review of the international health architecture. I’m going to focus on this idea that has been put on the table: a treaty for pandemics. I am delighted that with Dr Tedros we have been able to make a lot of progress, with many of you as well, in order to identify the framework and the themes within the framework of which we should, together, as the international community, draw lessons to make the stronger, more efficient, faster international response capacity in the future.
This treaty could take into account the need to better prevent crises, that is to say reduce risks. This treaty could also take care to facilitate the exchange of data, scientific in particular, to ensure that there is transparency. Also ensure the capacity for the future to better cooperate on travel restriction measures that have had to be taken in the past, or to ensure that supply chains can be guaranteed.
I also welcome the contributions of the World Trade Organization in conjunction with the World Health Organization, which have decided to join this process. I know there is still some hesitation. There are still some doubts on the question of this treaty. I really hope that we can very quickly resolve the concerns. Perhaps correct misunderstandings, when there are any. There will be a very important meeting next week within the framework of the World Health Organization. This could be the starting point to launch an operational working group in order to be gathered around the table and to set this ambition, to put in place a legal framework that can politically reinforce the lessons of this COVID crisis, to make the more robust and solid world in the future.
Those are the few things I wanted to share with you, dear friends. Be certain, as Ursula has already said, as the President of the European Parliament has indicated, that the European Union will be at the rendezvous of international cooperation, of solidarity to make the world more solid, more equitable and more just.
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