After an initial hearing on Wednesday 28 April in the dispute between the European Commission and Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca, an agreement has been reached to hear the case on 26 May. The information, published by several media outlets, was confirmed by a Commission spokesperson on Wednesday.
These legal proceedings will be conducted under an urgency procedure. According to AFP, the EU institution would like to have a verdict by the end of June.
It would also require the pharmaceutical company to commit to increasing numbers of deliveries of vaccine doses within this timeframe and to use all of its European and UK production sites stated in the contract.
The Commission took AstraZeneca to court on 23 April (see EUROPE 12706/11), in order to “make sure that the doses that we believe we are entitled to will be delivered by the company”.
“And indeed we have quite strong arguments for this claim”, said the EU institution’s health spokesperson, Stefan De Keersmaecker, to the press on Wednesday.
Through its lawyer, Hakim Boularbah, the firm once again “deplored” the Commission’s decision, AFP also reported. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)