The European Union (EU) is open to the use of COVID-19 vaccines from China and Russia, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers during a meeting on Tuesday that vaccine producers from China and Russia "could get ... a conditional market authorization like the other ones" when they "open their books" and "show all the data."

Europe is facing a vaccine shortage as manufacturers including AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech are supplying fewer vaccines than anticipated, drawing public criticism and prompting demands for alternatives.