ECR Member Roberto Ciambetti, also rapporteur in the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on the future of the Health Union, spoke on behalf of the Group during a debate on the COVID-19 vaccine campaign saying that it is a topic which the EU must prioritise, but on which it has so far failed to deliver.

Mr Ciambetti, President of the Regional Council in Veneto, emphasised that "no citizen, no business, no region and no state has been able to escape the clutches of the pandemic". He made reference to the very early days describing it as a sort of "trade war" between Member States over the procurement of face masks.

And now, almost a year after it began, Mr Ciambetti expressed his disappointment at those Member States who are bypassing EU agreements to obtain additional vaccine doses through bilateral agreements. For him, this calls into question "the principle of solidarity between Member States".

Mr Ciambetti continued to say that the EU decision to adopt a common vaccination strategy was met with optimism, but now there is only frustration at the "poor progress made". The enthusiasm of December 27, the date on which the first EU countries started vaccinating the public, now seems a "distant memory", he highlighted.

He described that situation in Italy where plans for the distribution of vaccines had to be revised after pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer, announced that they would reduce the delivery of agreed doses. "If we really want to reach the target of 70% of the EU population vaccinated by the summer, it is time to change course", he urged.

The debate took place as part of the February plenary session with Dr Hans Kluge, Regional Director for Europe of the World Health Organization (WHO).