European Commission (EC) President Ursula Von der Leyen (C), European Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides (L) and European Commissioner for Internal Market  Thierry Breton at an online meeting with representatives of major pharmaceutical companies, in Brussels, Belgium, January 31, 2021. (Photo: THX / VNA)

The European Commission said in a press release that the emergence of variants" raises the imminent threat of reduced efficacy of recently approved vaccines," and it is crucial to prepare for the appearance of such variants.

The discussion explored requirements for very rapid development, manufacturing and regulatory vaccine approval for COVID-19 variants in the EU, according to the press release.

The meeting took place amid increasing concerns over the limit of capacity and shortage of supply in the EU and the seemingly lower efficacy of some vaccines towards the new variants.