Reduce burdens from European emissions trading in the short term without jeopardizing 2030 targets
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Generate €20 billion to mobilize investments in renewables, energy efficiency, and LNG terminals / Christian Democrats in the European Parliament want to strengthen REPowerEU further
The Christian Democrats in the European Parliament propose a short-term intervention in emissions trading to relieve electricity consumers and companies of costs in the next difficult months and, at the same time, generate money for necessary investments in renewables, energy efficiency, and LNG terminals. They want to focus primarily on cross-border projects between Member States.
Dr. Peter Liese, the EPP group's environmental spokesman and rapporteur in the Environment Committee for REPowerEU and European emissions trading, said: "We urgently need to react quickly to protect electricity customers and companies from unbearable costs. European emissions trading must also contribute to this. At the same time, we are still too dependent from Russian energy and need to finally stop financing Putin’s war. Moreover, we should not weaken but even strengthen our climate ambition for 2030 because the last weeks have shown that to tackle climate change is even more urgent.
EMA recommends approval of Moderna and BioNTech's Omicron-adapted vaccines
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Great news / Approval by European Commission is expected within hours / Booster vaccination for people 12 years and above after three months of last vaccination or infection / Urgent recommendation for people over 60 and people with pre-existing conditions whose last infection or vaccination is older than six months
"This is great news; the vaccines will help us to get an even better grip on the pandemic in the upcoming months," commented Peter Liese, the health policy spokesperson for the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats), on the news that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended approval for two adapted vaccines against the Omicron subvariant of the coronavirus.
Read more: EMA recommends approval of Moderna and BioNTech's Omicron-adapted vaccines
ECDC and EMA publish recommendations on Omicron booster vaccination
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Omicron vaccines as booster doses / Recommendation for the vulnerable population / People over 60 and people with pre-existing conditions / Long-term care facilities and healthcare workers
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) now published a recommendation for the vaccination of the newly approved Omicron booster vaccines.
"Although the bivalent booster vaccines are approved for all persons above 12 years, the EMA recommends first protecting the vulnerable population with a higher risk for a severe disease course. I consider this recommendation to be very comprehensible. The EMA's recommendation is not binding for the member states. Still, I hope that the national authorities in member states will quickly come to similar recommendations," said the health policy spokesperson of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats), Peter Liese.
Read more: ECDC and EMA publish recommendations on Omicron booster vaccination
Adapted vaccines are coming
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I expect approval this week / No miracle cure but a significantly better protection
“For this week, I expect the approval of two adapted vaccines against the omicron subvariant of COVID-19”, said the health policy spokesperson of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP Christian Democrats), Dr. Peter Liese, on Wednesday in a video conference with journalists. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency (CHMP) will discuss the two marketing authorization applications from Moderna and BioNTech starting Thursday morning. The committee is expected to give a positive recommendation before the end of Thursday.
Formal approval by the European Commission will occur either on Thursday evening or on Friday. Both companies have submitted comprehensive data, including through clinical trials, to prove the superior efficacy of the adaptions in comparison with prior vaccines. If approved, the companies will be able to supply the adapted vaccines within the next few days. Moderna will provide the EU with 70 million vaccine doses in the first two months, with eight to eleven million of those being available as early as the first week of September. Germany is scheduled to receive 4 million Moderna doses in the first two weeks after approval. BioNTech-Pfizer is expected to surpass the Moderna deliveries, as they plan to deliver up to 29 million vaccine doses in September to Germany alone. 10 million of those will already be available in the first two weeks after approval.