Croatian MEPs Zeljana Zovko and Tonino Picula on Friday supported a temporary COVID vaccine patent waiver that will be discussed in the European Parliament next week.

India and South Africa have proposed that the patent on vaccines be waived in order to enable its production throughout the world in an effort to stop the contagion from spreading.

About a hundred countries have supported the proposal.

Vaccine producers and rich countries like the USA, Switzerland, Britain, and the European Union opposed the waiver, albeit US President Joe Biden has in the meantime changed his mind and is now proposing that the patents be suspended.

MEP Zovko (HDZ, EPP) said that she would support the patent waiver even though that is not the stance of the majority of MEPs in the European People’s Party.

“I personally support the temporary waiver on intellectual property. From personal experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina, I saw that countries bordering with the EU have been left to their own devices. We are seeing a disastrous situation in India, in Brazil, in Latin America,” Zovko said during an online press conference.

MEP Picula (SDP, S&D) said that a patent waiver would be an expression of solidarity with countries that are having difficulties in dealing with the pandemic, like India.

“Europe has to show far more solidarity, because this has to do with public money. We will not be safe regardless of inoculation until the majority of the world population is vaccinated,” said Picula.

The European Parliament plenary begins on May 17 and voting on the patent waiver is scheduled for June.