Brussels 25.02.2021 The European Union heads of state and government were meeting to discuss the epidemiological situation, and to agree to prioritise increasing the production and delivery of vaccines, confirming that they will work with the pharmaceutical industry to facilitate the process.

“Our top priority now is speeding up the production and delivery of vaccines and vaccinations across the European Union and it is why we support the Commission’s efforts to work with industry to identify bottlenecks, guarantee supply chains and scale up production and we want more predictability and transparency to ensure pharmaceutical companies comply with their commitments,” European Council President Charles Michel said.

Michel has underlined that the 27-member bloc must continue to invest in vaccine research, in order to fight against any new COVID-19 variants that may arise.

The leaders will hold another video conference call tomorrow, February 26, focusing on the EU security and defence. The other issue in focus will be relations with the Southern Neighbourhood countries in North Africa and the Middle East.