There was a Franco-German initiative which invited the Netherlands and Italy to join their buyers’ club. On June 13, the quartet — known as the “Inclusive Vaccine Alliance” — announced a deal for between 300 million and 400 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab. The Alliance said it would talk to the Commission about working together “where possible” and that other countries could join in — but “the four countries just realized at one point, there's no time to wait until everyone is on board,” said one senior EU diplomat from an alliance country. “Let's just give it a push; let's just start right now.”