"We are working tirelessly on it." Minister Agnes Pannier-Ruche welcomed the new project and said: "Stronger together to better protect Europeans: I welcome the launch of the #Hera incubator by President Ursula von der Leyen, Stella Kyriakides and Thierry Breton. "France will play its full part in this for an autonomous Europe in terms of the production of vaccines." After being criticised for a slow vaccine rollout, Brussels is aiming to take the lead of vaccinations to guarantee its supplies of jabs aimed at targetting variations of the virus. European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton (Image: Getty) The European executive plans to "update" its already signed contracts or "enter into new ones" to support the development of new or modified vaccines.