During the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels (17-20 May 2021), MEPs debate proposal to the WTO to waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, a move backed by the US administration. Extracts from the debate: statements by Augusto SANTOS SILVA, Portuguese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of an Economy that works for People, Esther de LANGE (EPP, NL), Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ (S&D, ES), Dacian CIOLOŞ (Renew, RO), Tilly METZ (Greens/EFA, LU), Marc BOTENGA (The Left, BE), and Gilles LEBRETON (ID, FR).

Brussels

statement

debate

plenary session

GARCÍA PÉREZ, Iratxe (S&D, ES)

DOMBROVSKIS, Valdis (LV, EC)

European patent (T)

LEBRETON, Gilles (ID, FR)

DE LANGE, Esther (EPP, NL)

CIOLOŞ, Dacian (Renew, RO)

FIDANZA, Carlo (ECR, IT)

METZ, Tilly (Greens/EFA, LU)

BOTENGA, Marc (The Left, BE)

Coronavirus outbreak (T)

vaccination strategy (T)

SANTOS SILVA, Augusto (PT)

Waiver of the Global Covid 19 vaccines patents: extracts from the debate

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/5071931/I205912Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

Title: Waiver of the Global Covid 19 vaccines patents: extracts from the debate

SOUNDBITE (English), Augusto SANTOS SILVA, Portuguese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, We would need to have more information to understand what the United States is planning to propose. It seems that the American proposal is different from the proposal made by India and South Africa. However, I wish to reiterate that in the current situation, speed and manufacturing capacity are the top issues.

SOUNDBITE (English), Augusto SANTOS SILVA, Portuguese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, The European Union considers that the WTO and TRIPS framework offer many other possibilities that would help to obtain our objectives.

SOUNDBITE (English), Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of an Economy that works for People, designated to assume responsability for trade, The Commission intends to present a proposal to the WTO, focusing on three components. First, trade facilitation and disciplines on export restrictions. Second, expansion of production, including sure pledges by vaccine producers and developers. And third, verification and facilitation of TRIPS agreement flexibilities relating to compulsory licences.

SOUNDBITE (English), Esther de LANGE (EPP, NL), MEP 6 - 9th parliamentary terms, The knowledge needed to produce vaccines needs to be transferred and shared. In our opinion, this will get vaccines into arms quicker than the current debate, focusing only on the waiving of patents. But it will require efforts and contributions from all: governments, private partners, NGOs and industry. And to industry, I would like to underline that it cannot in this crisis be business as usual. In this global emergency your first duty is not to shareholders, but to humanity.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Iratxe GARC&#205;A P&#201;REZ (S&amp;D, ES), MEP 6 - 9th parliamentary terms, We're not just talking about the temporary suspension of the patents. We're also talking about the extension of voluntary manufacturing agreements and to open up intellectual property for the world, to enable us to better fight the pandemic.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dacian CIOLO&#350; (Renew, RO), MEP 9th parliamentary term, We need to step up production. We need to continue exporting our doses to those countries who most need and continue to organise global solidarity to ensure this distribution. At the same time we do need to start thinking about derogation to the WTO agreement on vaccines, because it's the WTO that takes these decisions, because this health crisis is probably not going to be the last one.

SOUNDBITE (English), Tilly METZ (Greens/EFA, LU), MEP 8 - 9th parliamentary terms, What are we waiting for? There is existing capacity for vaccine production around the world. In Bangladesh and Pakistan, in South Africa, in India and Indonesia, in Latin America. And it could be operational within months. Who are we kidding? Voluntary licencing is refused by pharma companies. Sharing of data and knowledge doesn't happen and achievements of coworks are far from great so far.

SOUNDBITE (French), Marc BOTENGA (The Left, BE), MEP 9th parliamentary term, These pharma companies got billions of Europe public supports. Innovation is a global succes. Patents guarantee billions of euros of profits to pharmaceutical companies. But for the people this means unnecessary lives that are lost. Why? Because they don't get a vaccine. Waive these patents.

SOUNDBITE (French), Gilles LEBRETON (ID, FR), MEP 8 - 9th parliamentary terms, Waiving patents would be useless. Apart from some countries like India, emerging countries do not have the capacity to produce such sophisticated vaccines. It would be undermining innovation because it would be a precedent that would ruin legal certainty linked to intellectual property and would be a deterrent to investing in research in health.