Image: European Commission
Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, Poland and Spain pile on pressure ahead of Covid-19 summit
Leaders of five EU countries have written to the president of the European Council—the institution through which member state governments steer the running of the bloc—calling for more public-private cooperation to boost vaccine-related R&D.
The prime ministers of Belgium, Denmark, Poland and Spain, and the president of Lithuania, wrote to Charles Michel (pictured) on 23 February, ahead of a 25-26 February summit of the Council at which Covid-19 will top the agenda.
They said the Council and European Commission need to “work closely with all potential vaccine producers in Europe”, using public-private partnerships “to increase R&D efforts”.
Michel’s invitation letter to leaders for the summit, also dated 23 February, dedicates all of the 25 February session to Covid-19 talks, although it does not mention R&D.
Agenda highlights for the summit list “making better use of health data and data modelling” and “better matching research and innovation with production of vaccines and critical medical supplies” as discussion topics.