European Union leaders cranked up their criticism of the US call to waive Covid-19 vaccine patents, arguing the move would bring no short or midterm relief. They instead urged Washington to lift export restrictions if it wants to have a global impact on the pandemic.
"We don't think, in the short term, that it's the magic bullet," said EU Council President Charles Michel on the second day of an EU summit in Portugal. French President Emmanuel Macron insisted that giving any priority to discussing intellectual property rights now, is a false debate.
Instead, they joined previous EU calls for US President Joe Biden to start boosting US vaccine exports to contain the global Covid-19 crisis, insisting it was the most urgent need, AP reported.
