ROME. «The credibility of the European Union must be strengthened. No one is safe from Covid until we all are. The differences between regions are difficult to accept: the national plan must be followed, ”warns the premier. And «only with the full collaboration between the State and the Regions will we have full success in mass immunization. We are already working to compensate for the delay of these months. The acceleration of the vaccination campaign is already visible in the data. in the first three weeks of March the average administration was equal to 170,000 doses per day, more than double the average of the previous two months. Our goal is to bring the pace to half a million a day, ”says the head of the government.
Contractual strength
“The full involvement of the Parliament is an important step to account for the positions we intend to take at the European Council,” said Prime Minister Mario Draghi in his communications in view of the summit tomorrow and the day after. And he assures: «We have four safe and effective vaccines. They are the key to overcoming the crisis. First the elderly and the frail. While some regions follow the provisions of the Ministry of Health, others neglect their elders in favor of groups that have priority probably on the basis of some of their bargaining strength. We must be united in the exit from the pandemic as we have been suffering, together, in the previous months ». Before the intervention of the Prime Minister, the hall of Palazzo Madama commemorated the former senator Ombretta Fumagalli Carulli, who passed away last week in Milan, at the age of 77.
Full involvement and reopening
«Communications to the Chambers allow for full involvement of Parliament. This is an important step and first of all I would like to express strong satisfaction with the participation of US President Biden in a segment of the Council – highlights Draghi-. His presence confirms the desire to give a strong impetus to relations with the European Union ”. And «while the vaccination campaign proceeds, it is good to think about planning reopening. If the epidemiological situation allows it, we will begin to reopen the school in primis and at least the primary and kindergarten schools also in the red areas at the end of the current restrictions, we hope immediately after Easter »announces the Prime Minister in the Senate. And his words were greeted by the classroom with applause. «Speech by President Draghi in #Senato, the longest applause when he pronounces the word” reopening “, starting with schools and economic and social activities. Well », the leader of the League, Matteo Salvini, writes on Twitter.
A year later
One year later, “everything possible must be done to quickly resolve the health crisis. We know how to do it we have 4 safe and effective vaccines: three are already available and the fourth, Jhonson & Jhonson will be available from April “, specifies Draghi, recalling that on March 26, 2020 the European Council had declared the health emergency of the Covid pandemic.” Now the ‘goal is to vaccinate as many people as possible in the shortest possible time. Today I would like to give you a message of trust, a message of trust to all Italians. The government is determined to carry out the vaccination campaign with maximum intensity. essential to curb the contagion, return to normality, avoid the emergence of variants. The differences between the Regions in the administration of doses are difficult to accept. The Regions follow the priorities of the national plan “.
Differences
The President of the Council continues: «If you compare it to the rest of Europe, things are already going quite well here now. For vaccines made, Italy is second after Spain, but for the well-known reasons the European Union is behind many other countries. In the United Kingdom, just to give an example, the vaccination campaign is proceeding more rapidly, even if it must be said that the number of people who received both doses is comparable to those in Italy ». However, Draghi points out, «let’s see what we have to learn from that experience and also from that of other countries. Obviously they started two months earlier, also for the known reasons. But a large number of vaccination sites are used there, and a large number of people are licensed to administer the vaccines. As well as obviously the recall of the second dose has been moved over time compared to what happens in Europe. In short, what we have to learn is that once we have efficient logistics, and we have it, with less formal requirements and with greater pragmatism, we also arrive at a greater speed ». Furthermore, “global public health requires a common commitment on the part of all the main international players, towards the most vulnerable countries. On the other hand, with such an insidious virus, no one will be really safe until we are all safe ».
Stop the export of doses
«At the European level, we must demand full compliance with contractual commitments from pharmaceutical companies. The European Union must make full use of all available tools, including the EU Regulation for the export of vaccines, approved on January 30th. This regulation sheds light on the distribution of vaccines outside the EU, in particular to countries that are not in conditions of vulnerability, and we believe and have shown that it must be applied when necessary “, specifies the premier. Furthermore, «the pandemic makes clear the opportunity to invest in the production capacity of vaccines in Europe. We need to build a supply chain that is not vulnerable to external shocks and decisions. And we have already started, supported by the government, to establish partnership agreements with international manufacturers for production in Italy ».
EU autonomy
Mario Draghi adds: «There is a lot of talk about strategic autonomy, in reference to security and the single market, but the first strategic autonomy today is that of vaccines. The EU Council finds agreement on global digital taxation, The digitization process in Europe will not be easy. In Italy, the “Next Generation EU” program offers an enormous opportunity, 20% of the funds relate to digital transformation, but the development of these sectors cannot be separated from the equitable distribution of proceeds. We believe that the EU Council must proceed to a global solution on digital taxation by mid-2021 and I believe it is possible thanks to the contribution of the US with the new administration ». Therefore “the European Commission has set up a Task Force, led by Commissioner Thierry Breton, to strengthen continental production. We often talk about strategic autonomy. It is often talked about in reference to defense and security, the single market. But I believe the first strategic autonomy is when it comes to vaccines today. Security also concerns raw materials and the value chains of the ecological transition ».
Istanbul Convention
«The Turkish abandonment of the Istanbul Convention represents a serious step backwards. The protection of women and the defense of human rights in all countries are a fundamental European value, an identity value for the European Union ”, highlights the premier whose communication was followed by the debate in the classroom.
Mistake
«The evidence of the EU commission on vaccines was certainly not brilliant in addressing the question of AstraZeneca. allowing individual national governments and Germans to take measures that forced other governments to follow it. But it was a very wrong choice, and I say this as a German thread. The mistake was great, there was a lack of coordination by the EU commission, ”says Senator Pier Ferdinando Casini, speaking at Palazzo Madamaì. “You – added Casini addressing Draghi – did well to talk about the vaccination certificate which must be strictly European or is completely useless, even harmful”.