“It is legitimate for the EU to look at all the tools at its disposal to ensure that the contracts signed with [anti-Covid-19] vaccine producers are respected”, said European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer on Monday 22 March.
Last weekend, the President of the European institution, Ursula von der Leyen, threatened even more openly to block exports from the European Union by AstraZeneca in an interview with the German radio group Funke.
“This is our message to AstraZeneca: fulfil your contract with Europe before you start delivering to other countries”, she declared.
The Commission has sent a letter of formal notice to the Anglo-Swedish manufacturer as part of the settlement of disputes over their vaccine order contract (see EUROPE 12681/2).
“Discussions are taking place between members of the executive of each party, in this case the European Commission and the company AstraZeneca, to reach an agreement. We cannot speculate on the outcome of these discussions”, said health spokesman Stefan de Keersmaecker.
According to an EU diplomat quoted by Reuters, AstraZeneca has told the European Commission that the UK is enforcing a clause in its contract with the former, which states that the pharmaceutical company should not export vaccines until the UK is fully served. According to the same source, the British also want to ensure that vaccines produced at the Halix plant in the Netherlands are exported to them. This would contravene the EU’s request for reciprocity last week if no UK exports reached the EU (see EUROPE 12680/3).
“We need to make sure that the countries that produce, sometimes through companies that we also have contracts with, also export vaccines or components needed for production. It’s a win-win situation”, said Mr Mamer. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)