EC Report

Seven weeks ago already, the Commission's delivery target was met, ahead of time: to provide Member States, by the end of July, with enough vaccine doses to fully vaccinate 70% of the adult EU population.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said:

“The full vaccination of 70% of adults in the EU already in August is a great achievement. The EU's strategy of moving forward together is paying off and putting Europe at the vanguard of the global fight against COVID-19. But the pandemic is not over. We need more. I call on everyone who can to get vaccinated. And we need to help the rest of the world vaccinate, too. Europe will continue to support its partners in this effort, in particular the low and middle income countries.”

Global cooperation and solidarity

The rapid, full vaccination of all targeted populations - in Europe and globally - is key to controlling the impact of the pandemic. The EU has been leading the multilateral response. The EU has exported about half of the vaccines produced in Europe to other countries in the world, as much as it has delivered for its citizens. Team Europe has contributed close to €3 billion for the COVAX Facility to help secure at least 1.8 billion doses for 92 low and lower middle-income countries. Currently, over 200 million doses have been delivered by COVAX to 138 countries.

In addition, Team Europe aims to share at least 200 million more doses of vaccines secured under the EU's advance purchase agreements to low and middle-income countries until the end of 2021, in particular through COVAX, as part of the EU sharing efforts.

Preparing for new variants

Given the threat of new variants, it is important to continue ensuring the availability of sufficient vaccines, including adapted vaccines, also in the coming years. That is why the Commission signed a new contract with BioNTech-Pfizer on 20 May, which foresees the delivery of 1.8 billion doses of vaccines between the end of the year and 2023. For the same purpose, the Commission has also exercised the option of 150 million doses of the second Moderna contract. Member States have the possibility to resell or donate doses to countries in need outside the EU or through the COVAX Facility, contributing to a global and fair access to vaccines across the world. Other contracts may follow. This is the EU's common insurance policy against any future waves of COVID-19.

More than 350 million EU Covid Certificates have already been issued. An #EUCovidCertificate is a proof that a person has either been: vaccinated | tested negative | recovered from COVID-19. 9 non-EU countries are also connected to the EU system.

Learn more on how the European Commision has made travelling between member states safer.

Under this contract, Member States will be able to purchase up to 100 million doses of the Novavax vaccine, with an option for 100 million additional doses over the course of 2021, 2022, and 2023, once reviewed and approved by EMA as safe and effective. Member States will also be able to donate vaccines to lower and middle-income countries or to re-direct them to other European countries.

Today's contract complements an already broad portfolio of vaccines to be produced in Europe, including the contracts with AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, BioNtech-Pfizer, CureVac, Moderna and the concluded exploratory talks with Valneva. It represents another key step towards ensuring that Europe is well prepared to face the COVID-19 pandemic.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “As new coronavirus variants are spreading in Europe and around the world, this new contract with a company that is already testing its vaccine successfully against these variants is an additional safeguard for the protection of our population. It further strengthens our broad vaccine portfolio, to the benefit of Europeans and our partners worldwide.”

Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: “Vaccinations in the EU are advancing and we are closer to our target of 70% fully vaccinated citizens by the end of summer. Our new agreement with Novavax expands our vaccine portfolio to include one more protein-based vaccine, a platform showing promise in clinical trials. We will continue working tirelessly to ensure that our vaccines continue to reach citizens in Europe and around the world, to end the pandemic as quickly as possible.”

Novavax is a biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases. Their COVID-19 vaccine is already under rolling review by EMA in view of a potential market authorisation.

The Commission has taken a decision to support this vaccine based on a sound scientific assessment, the technology used, the company's experience in vaccine development and its production capacity to supply the whole of the EU.

The President also sets out how the Commission will address the most pressing challenges the European Union is facing and ideas for shaping the future of the EU.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, will deliver her address on 15 September 2021. The speech will be followed by a plenary debate with members of the European Parliament.

The Commission stands fully committed to deliver on its flagship initiatives, the European Green Deal and the Digital Strategy, as they are key to relaunching the European economy and building a more resilient, sustainable, fair and prosperous Europe.

Europe is fully engaged in the transition to a healthy planet and a new digital world. But it can only do so by bringing people together and upgrading our unique social market economy to fit today’s new ambitions. This means making the most of our strengths and potential, and focusing on equality and creating chances for all, whether for women or men, whether from East, West, South or North, whether young or old. Europe will continue to strive for more.

"We all agreed that it is our moral duty to help the Afghan people and to provide as much support as possible as conditions allow. The situation is indeed a tragedy for the Afghan people and it is a major setback for the international community. It was therefore timely that the G7 met and it was very good that we had as guest the NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, and the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres. In this meeting of the G7, we discussed evacuations, immediate humanitarian aid, longer-term development assistance and possible scenarios for refugees in need of protection.

On the humanitarian aid let me tell you that our key EU operations on medical facilities, food distribution, emergency water supply and sanitation are mostly still running. That is good. But of course, the events we see these days create significant additional needs."

... Read all the statement by President Von Der Leyen

The Facility is the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU, a temporary recovery instrument that allows the Commission to raise funds to help repair the immediate economic and social damage brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. The Facility is also closely aligned with the Commission’s priorities ensuring a sustainable and inclusive recovery that promotes the green and digital transitions.

The Recovery and Resilience Facility offers an unprecedented opportunity to speed up the recovery in Europe and reinforce the commitment to the twin transition: green and digital.

The Commission has disbursed €48 billion to 9 countries so far.

• Portugal €2.2 Billion
• Luxembourg €12.1 Million
• Belgium €770 Million
• Greece €4 Billion
• Italy €24.9 Billion
• Lithuania €289 Million
• Spain €9 Billion
• France €5.1 Billion
• Germany €2.25 Billion

These disbursements follow the recent successful implementation of the first borrowing operations under NextGenerationEU. By the end of the year, the Commission intends to raise up to a total of €80 billion in long-term funding, to be complemented by short-term EU-Bills, to fund the first planned disbursements to Member States under NextGenerationEU.

Following the announcement of renowned Scottish writer Irvine Welsh as the international guest of this year’s Festival, the National Book Council has been working hard to return with an in-person Festival featuring a five-day programme full of events celebrating books and reading for audiences of all ages. The programme, which will be published in the coming weeks, will include numerous book launches and presentations, meetings with authors, workshops, thematic discussions, film screenings as well as a host of activities for children, some of which will also stream online.