European leaders have committed themselves to seek solutions for EU-member states hit hardest by shortages in the supply of vaccines against COVID-19, Prime Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) declared after the end of the first part of the two-day EU video summit on Friday. The fulcrum of the talks was the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and vaccination against it. The European leaders voiced their support for the European Commission's plans to restrict exports of vaccines produced in the EU to non-EU countries that have higher rates of vaccination than the EU. Another joint European solution, pointed to by Matovic, will be the so-called green digital certificates, also known as COVID passports, due to contain not only information on vaccination but also the individual's COVID-19 history and testing results. The Prime Minister reported that the highlight of Thursday's (March 25) discussion was an online speech by US President Joe Biden on the prospects of cooperation between the USA and EU. "The Slovak Republic appreciates the US commitment to returning to a world based on multilateralism. Trans-Atlantic cooperation is crucial for tackling the erosion of democracy and the fight against climate change," said Matovic. Also presented at the video summit was the joint letter by Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Romania and Slovenia on the role of nuclear energy in the EU's climate and energy policy. "It's necessary to stop impugning the role [of nuclear energy] in the joint fight against climate change," added Matovic as one of the letter's signatories.
Source: TASR
