By Le Figaro with AFP
The United Kingdom said Friday that it would not participate in the European Union program, which it left at the end of January, with a view to obtaining potentially effective vaccines against the coronavirus.
The European Commission “confirmed that it is not possible for the UK to pursue negotiations with potential vaccine suppliers in parallel“Underlines the British ambassador to the EU, Tim Barrow, in a letter addressed to the European executive.
London would not have had a say
Besides having to give up its own efforts to procure vaccines, London would also have had no say in the conditions of acquisition of the vaccines, in particular “price, volume and delivery schedule“, he added. UK Health Minister Matt Hancock also said on Times Radio on Friday that the UK is “in advanceOn the EU in terms of negotiations with vaccine producers.
The country supports with millions of pounds the efforts of British researchers in the global quest for a vaccine, especially those of Imperial College London and the University of Oxford – in association with the British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca . In June, the EU released its “vaccine strategyTo help develop future vaccines against Covid-19 disease and book them in advance with producers.
The United Kingdom, the most mourning country in Europe with 44,650 dead according to a report published on Friday, left the EU at the end of January, but continues to apply European rules during a transition period running until December 31, 2020.
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