114 European Union Parliamentarians or MEP have issued a declaration calling European Commission and the European Council to not block waiver for COVID vaccine intellectual property rights (IPR) wavier at the world trade organization. The proposal for wavier was given by India and South Africa jointly last year, but faces stiff opposition from western countries including the EU.
The declaration said, “EU’s open opposition to the TRIPS waiver risks exacerbating a dangerous North-South divide when it comes to affordable access to COVID-19 diagnostics, personal protective equipment, treatments, and vaccines.”
Pointing out to the need for an IPR waiver it said, “WTO decision on a potential waiver offers a crucial and much-needed act of effective solidarity as it is an important step towards increasing local production in partner countries and, ultimately, suppressing this pandemic on a global scale.”
The development comes ahead of the European Council meeting on…