Emmanuel Macron regrets EU's 'missed moonshot' on vaccines

French President says 'we lacked madness' on how quickly vaccine could be developed

A Polish commuter waits for a coronavirus test at the Stadtbruecke border crossing between Germany and Poland. Poland is classified as a 'high risk' area by German authorities. AP Photo

Polish commuters queue for a coronavirus test at the Stadtbruecke border crossing. AP Photo

Teacher Michael G. Gromotka and his son Georg. Amid pressure to relax the lockdown, Germany agreed last month to gradually begin reopening schools - then the number of coronavirus cases increased, prompting some regional authorities to put those plans on hold. AP Photo

People walk through the quiet Alt Sachsenhausen district in Frankfurt, Germany. AP Photo

Tourists from Germany dance on El Arenal beach in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, following Berlin's lifting of quarantine requirements for travellers returning from the Balearic Islands. Reuters

Tourists from Germany arrive at Palma de Mallorca Airport in Spain. Reuters

People walk on the Promenade des Anglais during lockdown in Nice, southern France. EPA

People on Pont Neuf bridge next to the river Seine in Paris, France. New lockdown measures include the closure of non-essential businesses, but people are allowed outdoors within a 10-kilometre radius of one's home without time restrictions. EPA

People wait to receive a dose of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine in Marcq-en-Baroeul, France. Reuters

Police start clearing the area of protesters during an anti-lockdown demonstration in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. EPA

Music fans at a pop festival enjoy the event in Biddinghuizen, the Netherlands. The festival is part of a series of trial events in which researchers of the Fieldlab programme are investigating how large public events can take place safely during the pandemic. EPA

People take part in a demonstration against distanced learning in Duomo square, Milan, northern Italy. EPA

People walk along a promenade in Barcelona, Spain. EPA

French President Emmanuel Macron blamed the EU's slow Covid-19 inoculation campaign on a lack of ambition and a failure to appreciate how quickly a vaccine could be developed last year.

"Everybody, all the experts said: 'Never in the history of mankind was a vaccine developed in less than a year'," Mr Macron told Greek television channel ERT.

"We didn't shoot for the stars. That should be a lesson for all of us. We were wrong to lack ambition, to lack the madness, I would say, to say: 'It's possible, let's do it'," he said.

The EU is responsible for procuring and distributing vaccines to member states, but lags well behind comparable countries such as Israel, the UAE, the UK and the US in the number of shots per capita administered.

"We didn't think it would happen that quickly … you can give that to the Americans, as early as the summer of 2020 they said: 'Let's pull out all the stops and do it'," Mr Macron said.

"As far as we're concerned, we didn't go fast enough, strong enough on this. We thought the vaccines would take time to take off."

France, where about 6.6 million people have been given at least one shot, has struggled with domestic issues including trying to a convince large chunks of the population that are sceptical about vaccines.

The EU, which is furious with drug maker AstraZeneca over missed delivery targets, on Wednesday tightened controls on vaccine exports in an effort to speed up its campaign.

It came amid a surge in virus cases on the continent that has forced many EU member states to tighten restrictions.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel blamed supply problems on a lack of production capacity.

"British production sites are manufacturing for Britain and the United States is not exporting, so we are reliant on what we can make in Europe," she told Germany's parliament on Wednesday.

"We have to assume that the virus, with its mutations, may be occupying us for a long time to come, so the question goes far beyond this year."

She also defended the decision to jointly procure vaccines with EU member states.

"Now that we see even small differences in the distribution of vaccines cause big discussions, I would not like to imagine if some member states had vaccines and others did not," Ms Merkel said.

"That would shake the internal market to its core."