EU to use $2.7 billion fund to buy promising coronavirus vaccines

The European Union is preparing to use an emergency 2.4-billion- euro ($2.7 billion) fund to make advance purchases of promising vaccines against the new coronavirus, according to EU officials.

The move was discussed at a meeting of EU ambassadors on Wednesday, after Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands said they were speeding up negotiations with pharmaceutical companies to secure access to vaccines currently under development.

The EU rainy-day fund, known as the Emergency Support Instrument (ESI), would also be used to increase vaccine production capacity in Europe and offer liability insurance to pharmaceutical companies, officials said, confirming a Reuters report in May.

The EU’s push follows moves from the United States to secure vaccines under development, including almost a third of the first 1 billion doses planned for AstraZeneca’s experimental COVID-19 shot.