India to seek EU support on vaccine patent waiver

The US, the EU, Canada and the UK are among the prominent holdouts to the proposal made by India and South Africa.

New Delhi is set to push for European Union (EU) support for a waiver of patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines during the India-EU Summit on Saturday, which is also expected to witness the launch of negotiations on three key trade-related agreements.

After the US made a U-turn, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday the EU is ready to discuss how the US proposal for a waiver for vaccines could help achieve the objective of addressing the Covid-19 crisis in a pragmatic manner.(Reuters | Representational image)

Though the Biden administration has announced the US will back a temporary suspension of intellectual property rights for vaccines at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the perception in New Delhi is that the EU is yet to fully throw its weight behind such a move, people familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity.

The heads of state or government of all 27 members of the EU will gather in the Portuguese city of Porto for the virtual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi – only the second time such a gathering will be held following the EU’s meeting with US President Joe Biden in March.

Till this week, the US, the EU, Canada and the UK were among the prominent holdouts to the proposal made last year by India and South Africa for relaxing the norms of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) for Covid-19 vaccines.

After the US made a U-turn, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday the EU is ready to discuss how the US proposal for a waiver for vaccines could help achieve the objective of addressing the Covid-19 crisis in a pragmatic manner.

“The EU is still to take a position on the waiver, even though prominent members like France have backed the lifting of patents,” said one of the people cited above.

“The pharmaceutical lobby in Europe is one of the strongest, probably stronger than even the automobile lobby, and always works to ensure its margins. But the ground is shrinking for the EU after the support for the Indian proposal from the US and France,” said a second person.

EU officials have described the resumption of trade talks, which stalled in 2013 because of differences on issues such as market access for European products and mobility for Indian professionals, as a breakthrough and a “major step”.

The two sides will also unveil a connectivity partnership based on a shared approach towards transparent initiatives that respect international standards and provide fair opportunities to Indian and European companies, senior EU officials said at a virtual briefing on Thursday. This will only be the EU’s second connectivity partnership after a similar arrangement with Japan.

“We expect the leaders to endorse the launch of negotiations on three agreements – on trade, investment protection and geographical indications and this is a major step,” said an EU official, adding the move would help boost recovery from the economic fallout of the pandemic.

A second EU official said the talks are expected to lead to a breakthrough towards balanced, comprehensive and mutually beneficial agreements. “After almost eight years of suspension of free trade talks, we will agree to resume these and this opens up the way to a possible free trade agreement between us,” he said.

The two sides will also take steps aimed at shaping global standards for digital technologies and data management, and operationalise a joint task force on artificial intelligence (AI), the officials said.

The officials described the resumption of the human rights dialogue with India after a pause of eight years as a key development in view of the EU’s commitment to human rights and equal opportunities.

“We fully respect India as a secular democracy. Human rights are very much an important part of the political dialogue between the EU and India...One important message that we underlined was the important role that civil society actors and journalists play in a vibrant democracy,” the first EU official said. He acknowledged that the farmers’ protest in India had figured in recent talks between the two sides.

Other issues expected to figure in the summit are cooperation on maritime security, cybersecurity and counterterrorism, enhanced collaboration to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific, the signing of a working arrangement between Europol and its Indian counterpart to coordinate in the fight against terror and organised crime, the situation in Afghanistan and Myanmar, and efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal.

The officials said the two sides are expected to agree on cooperation on resilient medical supply chains, distribution of vaccines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and preparing for future pandemics and global health emergencies, including the strengthening of the WHO.

EU President Charles Michel, who has proposed an international treaty on pandemics to help strengthen the WHO, is keen to work with India in this field, the EU officials said.

They added that EU member states had so far provided equipment and supplies worth 100 million euros for India’s Covid-19 response and the bloc had announced emergency support of 2.2 million euros for the WHO to help with testing.