Answer given by Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission
(27.8.2021)
1. By concluding the advance purchase agreement, the participating Member States confirmed their participation in the procedure under Article 4(5)(b) of the Emergency Support Instrument Council Regulation 2016/369 (as amended by Council Regulation 2020/5211), and thus made a binding commitment under EU law not to launch their own procedures for advance purchase of a given vaccine with the same manufacturer. The Commission’s understanding is that the concerns of the Honourable Members relate to the attempts by the regional government of the Autonomous Community of Madrid to buy COVID-19 vaccines from Russia, which, as reported by the press, have not yet materialised.
2. On 10 July 2021, more than 500 million doses were delivered, reaching the milestone of vaccine deliveries to vaccinate 70% of the adult population. As of 27 July 2021, the target of vaccinating 70% of the population with one dose was surpassed with more than 75% of adults vaccinated with at least one dose, and more than 66% of adults have already been fully vaccinated. These are important milestones towards ending the pandemic. The Commission has signed a new contract with BioNTech-Pfizer, which foresees the delivery of 1.8 billion doses of vaccines between the end of the 2021 and 2023. This is the world’s largest contract for COVID-19 vaccines. Other contracts will follow which would make the case of emergency situations in Member States unlikely.
1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32020R0521
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