Austrian Prime Minister Claims "Some EU Countries Secretly Contracted for More Vaccines"

[Asia Economy Reporter Sung Ki-ho] Allegations have arisen that some European countries made 'secret contracts' with pharmaceutical companies to receive more vaccines than their quota under European Union (EU) regulations.

According to foreign media on the 12th (local time), Sebastian Kurz, Chancellor of Austria, claimed that after comparing the total procurement amounts by country, it became clear that "the per capita allocation system was not followed."

Chancellor Kurz said, "There are clues suggesting additional agreements between member states and pharmaceutical companies, so-called market indications."

He added, "Malta will receive three times more vaccines per capita than Bulgaria by the end of July, which clearly contradicts the EU's political objectives."

The EU denied these allegations of 'secret deals.'

An EU spokesperson rebutted, "Member states can decide to request fewer or more vaccines than initially allocated, and this is being discussed among member states," adding, "In this context, based on the discussion results, new allocation agreements with pharmaceutical companies are possible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.