ATHENS — A number of MEPs from the main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance party on Tuesday tabled a question to the European Commission over perceived inequalities in the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines by European Union member-states. Citing a recent Politico article, they noted that some member-states, including Greece, were buying fewer than their alloted quota of the Moderna vaccine, while other countries such as Germany, France and Denmark were stepping in to buy more than their alloted share.

The MEPs also asked about the possibility of negotiating with pharmaceutical firms to obtain the patent for the vaccines in order to speed up vaccination of the population.

According to the article, Greece has bought only 1.8 million doses, despite having the right to ask for an additional two million.

They asked the EU Commission to confirm how many doses of the Moderna vaccine Greece has a right to purchase and how many it has requested, what measures it intends to take to speed up vaccination of the population, given the significant delays, and also whether, in light of the generous EU financing of vaccine production, whether it was examining the possible of negotiating for the patents, so as to enable production on a larger scale and speed up supply to member-states.