Germany has asked the European Commission to purchase doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine for the EU, Politico Europe reported Wednesday.
The Commission plans to determine which countries are interested in purchasing the Russian shot as EU countries remain divided on the issue, an unnamed German official told Politico Europe.
Requests from at least four EU countries are needed to start talks on advance purchase agreements, Politico Europe reported.
Sputnik V is currently undergoing rolling review with the European Medicines Agency (EMA), with its timeline for approval still unclear.
A delegation from the EU’s medicines regulator will travel to Russia to inspect its vaccine manufacturing sites, EMA chief Emer Cooke announced earlier this week.
The unnamed German official told Politico Europe that the bloc’s procurement process could start ahead of Sputnik V’s authorization.
Faced with rising cases and deaths, EU members such as Hungary and Slovakia have bypassed the EMA to purchase Sputnik V for their own populations. Other EU countries have been more skeptical of the vaccine, questioning its swift rollout and accusing Russia of using it as a propaganda tool.
Last week, the EU official in charge of its vaccination rollout Thierry Breton said that Europe has “absolutely no need of Sputnik V” as the bloc has already approved four other vaccines.
The comment, which came as the bloc works to reboot its lagging vaccination efforts, sparked outcry from Moscow, which accused Europe of politicizing a global health crisis.
Germany Urges More From Moscow to Probe Navalny Poisoning
Germany on Monday urged Moscow to step up its efforts to investigate the apparent poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny who is currently being treated at a Berlin hospital in a coma.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a special address to French ambassadors in Paris that Europe needed «constructive» relations with Russia for the sake of the continent’s own security but it was clear now that «dark clouds» were hanging over bilateral ties.
«Of course we have the expectation that Russia should contribute more to clearing up of the Navalny case than it is doing at the moment,» he said alongside French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Berlin’s renowned Charite hospital said on Friday there was «some improvement» in Navalny’s condition but the 44-year-old nevertheless remains in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator.
Navalny fell ill after boarding a plane in Siberia earlier this month. He was initially treated in a local hospital before being flown to Berlin for treatment.
Charite doctors said they believed the anti-corruption campaigner was poisoned with a substance that inhibits the cholinesterase enzyme, a feature of nerve agents.
Navalny’s allies say he may have been poisoned by a cup of tea he drank at Tomsk airport in Siberia.
But the Russian doctors who first treated Navalny said their tests did not find any toxic substances, and the Kremlin has rejected international calls for an investigation.
