The European Commission called on world leaders to work together to purchase large quantities of potential vaccines against COVID-19, to avoid “harmful competition” in the race for the vaccine and to ensure the availability of future vaccines for poor countries, Reuters reported.

Wealthy countries rush to pre-buy doses from pharmaceutical companies to make sure they have enough stocks.

The European Commission is concerned that such competition could raise vaccine prices for everyone, and also cause many countries, mostly poor, to struggle to get supplies.

“When it comes to fighting a global pandemic, there is no place for ‘me first’,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.

The EU plans to spend about 2 billion euros on the preliminary purchase of vaccines.

EU member states are also implementing their own initiatives: Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands last week entered into a joint deal with drug manufacturer AstraZeneca to buy the vaccine in development.

Washington has made it clear that it is giving priority to its citizens regarding the COVID-19 vaccines.

According to Von der Leyen, she is trying to convince “a significant number” of world leaders to join forces and buy vaccines up front together. 

Next week, the EU will host a global virtual vaccination strategy summit at the end of a fund-raising campaign to secure funds to distribute potential COVID-19 shots to poor countries.