Remarks by Commissioner Kyriakides at the press point of the video conference of Ministers of Health - Hoofdinhoud

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending this virtual press point.

Numbers of COVID-19 infections in the EU i continue to decline. As the latest Risk Assessment from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control shows, as of 9 June, the 14-day incidence in the EU overall has declined by 80% since the peak on 9 April.

It is clear however that the pandemic is not over, and we are not yet out of the woods with this virus.

Continued vigilance is a must, and we must be ready to roll back the relaxation of measures if needed.

One of the lessons we have learned, is that Europe needs to give a higher priority to health - including through increased investments in health care.

And that is precisely why, as we are looking to the future, we will open a new chapter in EU health policy and funding with our new EU4Health Programme,

With a 2000% increase in financial resources, It represents an opportunity to do something bigger, and to make sure that what started as a health crisis becomes an opportunity for the health sector to lead the recovery.

EU4Health is about massively scaling up resources to be better prepared to react to crises and protect our citizens.

For the first time, we will create strategic stockpiles of protective equipment, medicines and medical devices in case of crises.

We will have a reserve of healthcare staff - including flying doctors - that can be deployed wherever and whenever needed.

EU4Health is also about ensuring that medicines and medical devices are available when needed and at all times.

And finally, it is about building the health systems of tomorrow and make a real difference for important priorities such as the fight against cancer, the reduction of the number of antimicrobial-resistant infections and improving vaccination.

I was very pleased to see today that Member States share our priorities.

The real game changer for our future without COVID-19 will however be a vaccine.

This will be the only REAL exit strategy from the crisis.

A vaccine accessible to all in Europe, and around the globe. No region of the world is safe until we are ALL safe.

And this is why, next week, we will be presenting an EU Strategy for COVID-19 vaccines.

At times where the world is taking steps to get access to a future vaccine, the EU must show a united front in these global efforts.

And time is of essence - we are in a situation of a public health emergency.

We have to act fast and we have to invest up-front in vaccine development to ensure that vaccines are being produced at the scale required as early as possible.

This is why we will propose a common EU approach to securing vaccine supplies for Member States.

This will avoid competition between us and offer vaccine producers a simplified negotiation process.

Working together we will have the benefit of scale, bringing the demand of almost 500 million citizens, and the leverage of the EU budget.

Doing this together will be faster, easier and cheaper for us all.

To prepare this, we have been discussing with the vaccines producers and Member States for some weeks now and have today put on the table a framework for joint action at EU level, in order to obtain a political mandate from the Ministers.

Part of our proposal is to agree Advance Purchase Agreements with vaccine producers, giving the Member States the right to buy a given number of vaccine doses for a certain price, as and when a vaccine becomes available.

To fund such agreements up-front, we will use the Emergency Support Instrument.

With our strategy, we will issue an open call to all vaccine developers that have a manufacturing capacity in Europe and have entered clinical trials this year, to enter into talks with us.

As the speedy development of a universally accessible vaccine is part of our global effort, we will also ask a commitment from companies to supply outside the EU. We want production in Europe, but for the benefit of Europe and the rest of the world.

Working closely with our Member States, and on the basis of clear criteria, we will select which companies to enter into negotiations with.

I have been very clear in my message to the Ministers today. Working together will increase our chances to secure a safe and effective vaccine at the scale we need and as early as possible.

I am pleased that from today's Council we received a clear political mandate to proceed (TBC) with our strategy to get to a safe and effective vaccine for all who need it in Europe and find a permanent solution to the COVID-19 crisis.

The strategy will be closely coordinated with the massive efforts we are making for the global access to a vaccine, where as you know, we have already managed to secure 9.8 billion euro, and is continuing through to the 27 June with an event that will be hosted by Global Citizen.

I thank you for your attention.