On February 4, French President Macron admitted China's efforts to develop the Covid-19 vaccine were "an obvious diplomatic success" that "made them" a little humiliated ".

Speaking of President Emmanuel Macron made in the context of the vaccination program of the European Union (EU) facing the risk of failure.

The people working in the pharmaceutical industry identified the slow order and the bargain price of vaccines are the reasons why the EU is in trouble.

In addition, delivery of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine developed in Germany was temporarily interrupted, while other potential Covid-19 vaccines ordered by the EU are still in the testing process.

Meanwhile, the two leading countries in vaccination in Europe are outside the EU.

In Serbia, more than 7% of people received the first dose of vaccine, while this figure in Germany is only 2.4%, the same level as in other EU countries, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

"Serbia is vaccinating faster," German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted in a TV interview on Feb. 2, referring to the country's use of Chinese vaccines.

EMA said it is providing scientific advice on the licensing process for Sputnik V and CoronaVac, the Covid-19 vaccine made by the Chinese company Sinovac, although neither developer has submitted a request.

Developers Sputnik V also started looking for production partners in Germany, and expressed hope that the vaccine will be "green-lighted" by the EU in March. Sputnik V's reputation also strengthened last week, when

The prospect of Sputnik V being deployed in the EU came as Berlin was under pressure to tougher with Moscow, after Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny "suspected poison".

Russia does not seem to hide its attempt to use vaccine diplomacy to increase its international influence, as shown by the naming of Sputnik V, similar to the name of the Sputnik 1 satellite launched into space by the Soviet Union in 1957.

Despite claiming not to use vaccines as diplomatic leverage, in public statements, Chinese officials still refer to the Covid-19 vaccine as a way for broader cooperation and outreach.

After China quickly responded to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's call for help with Covid-19 vaccine, European countries also provided assistance.

Now, smaller countries may increasingly see Serbia's path as the only way out of a pandemic.

"Now, the EU must seriously consider the vaccines from Russia and China. It is the result of the terrible level of the pandemic, but also the mistakes in the policy," said expert Fidler.

In his speech to the Atlantic Council on Feb. 4, Macron said that in the long run, he believes the Covax program could be "more effective" than other efforts to support developing countries.

However, the advantage is in Russia and China.

"I think in this situation, the EU will try to close its eyes to the downside of letting Russia distribute vaccines," Hosa said.