Statement by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with President Michel, following the videoconference of the members of the European Council

Good evening,

Indeed, this was a long and good European Council. We started by discussing COVID-19 and this in a situation where we have an epidemiological situation of great concern. We are at the start of a third wave in Europe. In many European Member States, infections are on the rise again, mostly due to the variant B.1.1.7 that is basically now in every Member State. But fortunately, mortality increases remain, however, lower than the spread of the virus. So we see the very first effects of having vaccinated most of the over 80 years old. But overall, the situation is of great concern.

This highlights the importance of a fast and speedy vaccination. Now, we took stock of where we are at the moment being, a week before the end of the first quarter of 2021. Vaccination is now finally progressing steadily. We have 88 million doses that have been delivered so far and 62 million doses have been administered. Overall, if you look at the number of people that have been fully vaccinated in Europe, these are 18.2 million. So 4.1% have already received two jabs.

But of course, we all know, we could have been much faster if all pharmaceutical companies had fulfilled their contracts. Now looking forward to the second quarter, we basically see the same picture: We have BioNTech and Moderna that have been delivering very reliably and according to schedule and contract. Thus, we expect that they will increase their deliveries, as is contracted, in the second quarter, and thus to gain pace.

Additionally, we see that Johnson & Johnson is kicking in the second quarter. And let me remind you that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires a single shot for a full vaccination. AstraZeneca has committed to a lower number of doses than was contracted. Here, AstraZeneca has committed to 70 million doses instead of the contracted 180 million doses. But overall, if we have a look at the second quarter, what is committed, it means that we are on track to achieve our goal: that this summer, we want to have 70% of the adult population in the European Union vaccinated.

I also presented to the Leaders the latest changes for the transparency and export mechanism for exports of COVID-19 vaccines. You know that yesterday we added to the scope of this mechanism the criteria of reciprocity and proportionality. Just to be very clear: We want to make sure that Europe gets its fair share of vaccines. Because we must be able to explain to our citizens that if companies export their vaccines to the whole world, it is because they are fully honouring their commitments and it does not risk security of supply in the European Union.

And let there be no mistake: The European Union can be proud and is proud to be the home of vaccine producers who not only deliver to European citizens, but export around the globe. Also, the European Union is and will forever be a fervent supporter of global cooperation. Our track record speaks for itself – and it was good to create this transparency: Since the start of the mechanism on 1 February, more than 380 export requests to 33 different countries have been granted. And only one has been stopped.

And the figures are even more impressive if you calculate the amount of doses, between 1 December and today, that have been exported. Overall up to date, the total number of exports from the European Union has risen to 77 million doses. That shows that Europe is the region that exports the most vaccines worldwide. And we will continue exporting, also through COVAX, and to protect humanitarian and health workers around the world. So the bottom line is: We invite others to match our openness.

The fight against the pandemic of course was also one of the topics addressed with President Biden tonight. We were indeed glad for this exchange of views. The European Union and the United States are both major producers of vaccines and we agreed that we have a strong interest in working together to keep global supply chains functioning and to prepare already for the next challenges to come in this pandemic, in an area of pandemics. The United States is an important and valued partner to the European Union. And we want to forge a new EU-U.S. global agenda to meet the challenges, but also to seize the opportunities of our times. 

And indeed, this comes on top of the excellent discussions I had with Secretary of State Antony Blinken just yesterday. The European Union and the United States must develop together true solutions, set ambitious objectives, and then work together to achieve them. It was interesting to see the agenda, the topics that have been presented by President Biden.

Of course, first of all how to get COVID-19 under control. But indeed, his second major topic was fighting climate change and to drive an inclusive economic growth that is clean and sustainable. His third topic was to lead the economic recovery to a jobs-rich recovery – we share this common ambition – and how to boost innovation on cutting-edge technologies. And finally, indeed that we stand united as democracies defending human rights and defending human dignity.

Finally, a few remarks on Turkey, the discussion on Turkey we had. As you know, President Michel and me, we spoke to President Erdoğan last Friday. Since the December European Council, Turkey has shown a more constructive attitude, including in its bilateral relations with several EU Member States. These are positive and welcomed steps on which we must try to build on. However, we also know that this process of de-escalation remains fragile.

So together with High Representative Borrell, we submitted a report on the state of play of EU-Turkey political, economic and trade relations, as well as on instruments and options on how to proceed now with this relationship. In light of Turkey's recently more constructive attitude, the report puts forward possible areas of cooperation to allow for a progressive and proportionate approach. 

We have decided in the European Council to go for a two-step approach. We will further engage with Turkey on issues such as migration financing, high-level dialogues and modernising the Customs Union. If Turkey does not move forward constructively, if it returns to unilateral actions or provocations, in particular in the Eastern Mediterranean, of course we would suspend these cooperation measures.

And finally, the Commission got invited by the Council to present a proposal to the Council for the continuation of the financing for Syrian refugees – as well as in Turkey as in Jordan and Lebanon and other parts of the region.

Thank you!