THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION REPORT. Europe in a period of transition

THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 100 shared throughout the Member States, on such a critical topic, was an important historical achievement for the EU. A process as complex as the EU Vaccine Strategy has not been without its stumbling blocks, particularly concern- ing the contract withAstra-Zeneca. However, once past the first few months, the overall evaluation, on 30 June 2021, is very positive, with 61% of the EU’s adult population hav- ing received at least one dose, which has led to a drastic drop in covid-19 infections and patients in hospitals and in ICUs, giving us a glimpse of the end of the pandemic. The EU in the global fight against the pandemic The virus knows no borders. The vaccines against cov- id-19 are very effective, but they are a long way from reaching beyond wealthy countries and due to its high infection and mutation rates and its worldwide spread, explosive in some countries, SARS-CoV-19 clearly demonstrates that “nobody will be protected until we are all protected.”The threat of covid-19 will remain until it can be controlled globally, and vaccination can reach every corner of the Earth. The EU is a leading global player as the top world donor to development cooperation. In this pandemic, it has promoted and led worldwide initiatives against covid-19 working with the most relevant international players (G-7, 24 G-20, WHO, UN, World Bank, IMF, Gavi, private philanthropists, etc.). Furthermore, it has dedi- cated a significant quantity of resources to worldwide control of covid-19 and alleviating its socioeconomic consequences. The Coronavirus Global Response initi- ative has doubtlessly had the greatest impact, as by 27 June 2020 it had reached over 15.9 billion Euros, 6.5 contributed by Europe (1.4 from the Commission, 3.1 from Member States and 1.9 from the BEI). 25 24  Microbe, T. L. (2021). G7 leaders commit to greater pandemic preparedness (again). The Lancet Microbe, 2(7), e276. https://doi. org/10.1016/S2666-5247(21)00156-7 25  European Union. Coronavirus Global Response. Pledge. https:// global-response.europa.eu/pledge_en The EU’s support for the WHO has been particu- larly positive, especially in two of its most pertinent initiatives: an International Pandemic Treaty 26 to im- prove the international prevention capacity and the international response to the crises and to reduce the risks, and worldwide collaboration “ACT-A” (Access Ac- celerator to the Tools against COVID-19) with the aim of “accelerating the development and deployment of vaccines, tests and treatments against COVID-19 and improve healthcare systems” 27 where EU support has been decisive to collect over 29 billion Euro required to strengthen ACT-A. Within ACT-A, the COVAX initiative is very impor- tant. The EU has made a 1 billion Euro contribution to it and Team Europe 28 added another 2.2 billion in an attempt to procure 1.3 billion doses at the end of 2021, intended for 92 low-income countries. The chasm between worldwide covid-19 vaccination needs and the current and foreseeable reality in the medium term has led several countries, the WHO and other highly qual- ified voices to criticise the insufficiency of the COVAX programme, claiming suppression, at least temporarily, of the right to the vaccine patents, a controversial topic within the EU, despite the President of the Commission showing her willingness to debate it, following support from the Biden Administration on 5 May 2021 regard- ing temporary suspension of patents for the covid-19 vaccines. 26  EU Council. The EU supports the start of the WHO process for es- tablishment of the pandemic treaty: Council Decision. 20/05/2020. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/es/press/press-releases/2021/05/20/ eu-supports-start-of-who-process-for-establishment-of-pandemic-trea- ty-council-decision/ 27  European Commission. Coronavirus Global Response: WHO and Commission launch the Facilitation Council to strengthen global col- laboration. 10/09/2020. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/ detail/en/ip_20_1581 28  The Team Europe initiative has the objective of being “ an integrated and comprehensive support package that will tackle barriers to manu- facturing and access to health products and technologies in Africa from all angles, and will place the continent’s own actors and institutions at its heart ” European Commission. 21/05/2021. https://ec.europa.eu/ commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_21_2594