<span style="color: #222222;">The European Union has submitted to the World Trade Organization a plan it believes will more effectively broaden supply of COVID-19 vaccines than the intellectual property rights waiver backed by the United States.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The European Commission, which oversees trade policy for the 27-nation EU, said that it had submitted an alternative, stressing limits on export restrictions and existing WTO rules allowing countries to grant licences to producers. The EU plan, which it says could be put into action much quicker, consists of three elements, including keeping the export restrictions to a minimum; encouragement by EU to vaccine makers to enter licensing and manufacturing deals with producers in developing countries; and, allowing countries to grant licences to manufacturers even without the consent of the patent-holder, although with compensation.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">India, South Africa and many other developing countries have been demanding an IP rights waiver for COVID-19 vaccines and other treatments to address what they say is a 'staggering inequity' in access to global public goods. A surprise US shift in May to support a patent waiver had heaped pressure on remaining opponents, such as the European Union and Switzerland that are home to many drugmakers.</span><br />''  <br />