In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, the EU institutions (Parliament, Council and EU Commission) agreed on the European Climate Law. With this law, the EU binds itself to reach climate neutrality in 2050 at the latest. The target for 2030 is set at 55%. As suggested by the Council of Ministers and the Commission, as well as by the largest political group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats), it remains a net target, i.e. part of the target can be achieved through so-called sinks, such as the management of forests. However, MEPs specified this possibility and limited the amount of sinks that can count towards the target to 225 MT of CO2. The inclusion of sinks had been criticized in some parts because it is not certain whether, for example, forest growth will be stable in the coming years. The compromise makes it clear that the main effort will be from emissions reduction. At the same time, however, the Commission is asked to do everything possible to increase the potential of sinks well beyond the 225 MT, i.e. if things go well, the target may well be exceeded. Experts calculate a net 57%. At the same time, however, other sectors such as transportation and industry have planning certainty. With this compromise, the EPP group mainly defended its priorities.
The negotiator of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats) Dr. Peter Liese was very satisfied. "The agreement is historic. The goal of climate neutrality is now written in law. For the first time, the European Parliament was directly involved in setting the climate targets. Contrary to other claims, the 55% target is very ambitious, considering that we reduced 25% from 1990 to 2020 and now have to reduce 30% in 9 years, it is definitely something to be proud of. Climate protection is the most important task for the future. However, we should set ourselves targets that we can actually meet. Future generations have nothing to gain from targets that are only written on paper."
The European Commission will no longer buy vaccines from Johnson& Johnson and AstraZeneca in the future, but will rely on the mRNA vaccines from BioNTech/Pfizer, Moderna and CureVac for the long-term fight against the Corona pandemic. Corresponding reports were confirmed by the MEP and health policy spokesman of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats), Dr. med. Peter Liese, following talks with the Commission.
The European Commission wants to buy 900 million mRNA vaccines for 2022 and 2023 and not renew contracts with other vaccine manufacturers "The vector vaccines from Johnson&Johnson and AstraZeneca are good vaccines and we need to use them to get the pandemic under control by the summer. The side effects are very serious and I support the decision of many Member States not to vaccinate AstraZeneca to younger people for the time being.
"It is gratifying that another vaccine is available in Europe." This stated the MEP and health policy spokesman for the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats), Dr. med. Peter Liese, after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) today issued a positive risk assessment for the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. The vaccine was already approved by the EMA for Europe in March and was due to be shipped last week. However, following reports of possible severe side effects, the shipment to Europe was halted. Previously, U.S. health officials had recommended a stop of vaccinations.
"The side effects need to be taken very seriously, but first, they are extremely rare and second, they can be treated. It is important that people who have signs of side effects, for example, severe headaches after the fourth day or noticeable bleedings, present themselves immediately to a doctor or even to a hospital. Overall, the risk from Covid-19 is definitely greater than the risk of vaccine side effects," Liese said.
Today, the vaccine manufacturer Johnson & Johnson will begin with the shipment of its vaccine to the European Union. The health spokesperson of the largest political group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats) Dr. med. Peter Liese has received this information from sources from the European Commission and the company. The manufacturer has announced in contracts with the EU to deliver 55 million vaccine doses by the end of June. Most recently, it was unclear whether that promise would be kept. However, 50 million doses are certain. The vaccine has shown good efficacy in clinical trials not only against the original type of the virus, but also against the British and even the South African and Brazilian virus mutations. "It only takes one vaccination to achieve sufficient protection, so the vaccine will massively accelerate the pace in the EU. A total of 360 million vaccine doses have been announced for the second quarter, most of which (200 million) will come from BioNTech/Pfizer." Liese expects to exceed the European Union's promise of vaccination coverage for 70% of adults by the end of the summer.