The health ministers of Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia submitted a joint letter to the European Commission urging it to reduce the upcoming vaccine supplies.

This happened today, 14 June, during a regular meeting of the Council of the European Union on Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs, which also discussed the European Health Data Space Regulation.

The health ministers' letter also raises the issue of renegotiating the terms of the contracts signed by the EC in order to ensure that public resources are spent efficiently and that there are clauses protecting the public interest. In this regard, Minister Asena Serbezova expressed concern that the surplus of Covid-19 vaccines in Bulgaria, which seriously exceeds the needs of the population, could go to waste. 

Minister Serbezova pointed out that Bulgaria had sent letters to the European Commission with specific proposals to change the texts of the agreements.

As for the digitalization of the health sector, Asena Serbezova insisted on keeping the possibility to share patient data as a right, not an obligation.