Vaccine and investment were among the items on the agenda when 40 African leaders met EU leaders in Brussels last week. Extensive investments were promised, but no abolition of patent protection for covid vaccine.
On Thursday, representatives from African Union and the EU at the summit in Brussels to discuss how to collaborate in the future. The focus was on, among other things, the EU's promises of multi-billion investments in areas such as renewable energy and digital infrastructure under the name global gateway. EUR 150 billion was promised in connection with the meeting. According to France24 The venture can be seen as a way to compete with China's Belt and Road Initiative, the loan program for projects in transport and digital infrastructure, for influence on the African continent.
The focus of the meeting was also on African leaders' continued attempts to get the EU to ease the patent for covid-19 vaccine, a proposal that especially Germany has opposed. The idea is that local production will ensure that the vaccine reaches the population on the African continent, there the degree of vaccination is still relatively low. The parties reached a compromise during the meeting where the EU opens for licensing in six African countries and offers help to get started with production, but the intellectual property rights of pharmaceutical companies will continue to be maintained.