COVID-19 vaccine as a public good

30.7.2020

Question for written answer E-004464/2020
to the Commission
Rule 138
Marc Botenga (GUE/NGL)

On 24 April 2020, Commission President UvdL declared that a future COVID-19 vaccine ‘will be our universal, common good.’ In subsequent negotiations over a World Health Assembly (WHA) resolution on the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU submitted a proposal for a resolution recognising immunisation against COVID-19 as a global public good. The United States reportedly objected, claiming that the expression ‘public good’ lacked legal clarity. The final WHA resolution recognises the role of extensive immunisation, but not vaccines, against COVID-19 as a global public good for health.

• 1.Can the Commission confirm that it wants the vaccine to be a ‘universal common good’ as declared by the President?
• 2.Can it clarify the legal definition it uses for ‘universal common good’?
• 3.What legal implications does this definition entail as per intellectual property rights and licensing?