The EU is pushing for a global deal aimed at preventing new pandemics that could include a ban on wildlife markets and incentives for countries to report new viruses or variants, an EU official said.
Negotiators from six regional representatives were to meet for the first time yesterday to prepare talks for a potential treaty, said the official, who is not authorized to speak to media and so declined to be named.
The aim is to reach a preliminary agreement by August.
However, Brussels has so far struggled to get full backing for a new treaty from the US and other major nations, some of which want any agreement to be non-binding.
A spokesperson for European Council President Charles Michel, who in November 2020 proposed a new treaty on pandemics, said he had no fresh comment on the matter.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the most widely accepted theory, the COVID-19 pandemic began with the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from an animal to humans in a wildlife market in China.
Although Beijing was initially praised by the WHO for notifying it quickly of the new virus, the US in particular has accused China of holding back information about the likely origins of the outbreak.
Among measures the EU wants to be included in the treaty is a gradual shutdown of wildlife markets, the EU official said.
Incentives for countries to report new viruses are also seen as crucial to help with speedy detection and avoid cover-ups.
Last year, southern African nations were hit with punishing flight restrictions after they identified the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, which some fear could deter reporting of future outbreaks if incentives are not attractive enough.
The official said incentives could include guaranteed access to medicines and vaccines developed against new viruses, which poorer nations have struggled to obtain quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic, as wealthier states rushed to secure supplies.
States that detect and report a new virus could also receive immediate support, which might involve shipments of medical equipment from a global stockpile.
Delegates from six countries, representing the world’s main regions — Japan, the Netherlands, Brazil, South Africa, Egypt and Thailand — are attending the talks, officials said.
Brazil, which represents northern and southern American countries, favors a non-binding treaty.
The EU, which is represented by the Netherlands, wants to introduce legally binding obligations to prevent and report new virus outbreaks, an EU document seen by Reuters says.
If an agreement is reached, the treaty is expected to be signed in May 2024.
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