ZAGREB, Croatia — Croatia’s health minister says around 1 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine could be imported into the European Union nation even without its approval from the bloc's drug regulator.

Health Minister Vili Beros said Wednesday that because Croatia, like many other EU countries, is struggling to get agreed doses of EU-approved vaccines, Croatia’s drug agency will decide on the effectiveness of Sputnik V.

Sputnik V has yet to be approved by the European Medicines Agency.

Beros said the final decision on the procurement of the Russian vaccine will depend on how quickly it could arrive in Croatia.

“If it is in the summer, we won’t need it,” Beros told reporters. “If it can arrive in a week or two, we would need a million doses.”

Neighboring Hungary has so far been the only one of the EU's 27 nations to start administering Russian and Chinese vaccines without waiting for the approval from EMA.