The House of Representatives remains concerned about Minister Kuipers’ (VWS) intention to sell the vaccine institute Intravacc. Opposition parties consider it unwise to hand over all knowledge of vaccine development to a commercial party. The ruling party CDA also has additional requirements and wants to ensure that Kuipers does not sell the institute to the highest bidder.
The Assembly had previously agreed that no irreversible action would be taken until a debate on the matter took place today. The various parties will insist on halting their sales plans, or at least agree on better warranties.
The Dutch government is currently the sole shareholder of the research institute in Bilthoven, which originated from the RIVM’s vaccine department. The manufacturing branch was sold to an Indian company in 2012, but development and research continues in the Netherlands.
CDA: I disagree on this
The ruling CDA party is dissatisfied with the minister’s responses to the party’s concerns. Bundestag Joba van den Berg is ready to think about the sale, “but then the minister will have to impose much more stringent conditions than what he is writing to us at the moment. We can’t get along like that.”
According to Van den Berg, Kuipers simply wants Intravacc not to be sold to a sanctioned country, but feels that this is not enough. He believes the EU should be more self-sufficient in vaccines. Therefore, according to the CDA, the buyer must be based in the EU and wholly owned by the owners in the EU and also have a clear strategy for vaccine development.
During the Corona epidemic, Minister De Jonge decided to stop the planned sale of the institute. But last summer its successor, Kuipers, announced that it wanted to continue selling.
Kuipers sees little added value for the Netherlands from retaining a particular company. It wants to take steps to become more self-sufficient in vaccine development in the EU context. He also thinks there will be more opportunities for intravacc to attract private money as they move away from government.
critical report
Before the government privatizes a company, a pros and cons report should be drawn up. The Intravacc report by a former senior ministry official specifically lists many disadvantages.
It states that not all public interests can be left to trade. This is at the expense of protecting against future epidemics. In some cases, a drug may be more lucrative for a company than a vaccine.
The Court of Accounts also wondered whether public interests would be protected in the long run after the sale and recommended the House of Representatives to do this properly.
Reason enough for GroenLinks to offer to stop selling Intravacc again today. MP Lisa Westerveld said: “We learned that we have to keep the important things in the hands of the people, in the hands of the government. It’s currently being sold to the highest bidder, but it’s extremely important for vaccine development.”
Other opposition parties, such as PvdA and SP, say they are little interested in privatizing the institute.
Source: NOS
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
