Hungary became the first country in the EU to authorise Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and China’s Sinopharm jab for use, securing seven million doses for its population of 10 million from the suppliers combined.

The move came after criticism of a slow roll-out of the EU’s vaccination campaign and public squabbles with suppliers over the speed of production and delivery.

Neither of the pharma companies has applied for marketing authorisation of their vaccine by the European Medicines Agency, which has so far approved only the Pfizer/Biontech, Moderna and AstraZeneca formulas.

Should the EMA approve the vaccines, Luxembourg could consider joining European Commission purchase agreements, Lenert said in answer to a parliamentary question.

Luxembourg has relied on EU contracts with suppliers, which member states are free to join but can also decide to skip. Countries in the contracts are supplied with doses based on their population.

“If the EMA should issue an authorisation for the vaccines, Luxembourg could--if the European Commission should decide to launch a global order for the member states--consider joining such an order,” Lenert’s hesitant answer reads.

France’s president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel have both expressed their openness to using vaccines from Russia and China if they are granted EU regulatory approval.

Serbia--one of the EU’s Balkan neighbours currently in negotiations to join the bloc--has overtaken EU countries in the speed of its vaccine roll-out, in large part thanks to a one-million vaccine dose shipment from China received mid-January. The country inoculated around 450,000 people within the span of just two weeks.

At the 17 + 1 summit this week--a gathering of 17 Central and Eastern European countries and China--president Xi Jinping said he would “actively consider such cooperation” with other governments in the region, according to the Xinhua news agency.