European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that the EU was ready to discuss a US-backed proposal to waive patents on Covid-19 vaccines.
But she stressed that Europe's priority would be to boost global supplies, and implicitly criticised the US and the UK for limiting vaccine exports.
As recently as two weeks ago, Ms von der Leyen told the New York Times, "I am not at all a friend of releasing patents," arguing the pharmaceutical industry must be rewarded for its innovation.
But supporters of a waiver argue that poor countries are struggling to get inoculation programmes while richer countries protect intellectual property rights of drugs giants. "The European Union is also ready to discuss any proposal that addresses the