EU Summit to Discuss Vaccine Patent Waiver Proposed by U.S.
By Raf Casert | May 7, 2021
BRUSSELS – European Union leaders said Thursday that in the wake of the U.S. backing patent waivers for COVID-19 vaccine technology, the 27-nation bloc immediately will start discussing whether they should join such a move.
The leaders’ first opportunity to mold a common view will come as soon as a two-day summit in Porto, Portugal, that starts Friday.
While many insist that waiving patents would only go part way toward making vaccines available and likely in the midterm only, French President Emmanuel Macron said he “completely” supports opening up intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines as “a global public good.”