European Commission denounced AstraZeneca in court for delay in delivery of coronavirus vaccines

The European Commission (EC) announced on Monday that it had reported to the Belgian ordinary courts to the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca understanding that he did not respect the terms of the vaccine contract signed with the community executive for the whole of the European Union (EU).

“Our priority is to ensure that COVID-19 vaccine deliveries take place to protect the health of the EU. This is why the Commission has decided, together with the Member States, to initiate legal proceedings against Astrazeneca. Every dose of vaccine counts. Every dose saves lives, ”Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said on Twitter.

The EU executive had made it known that it was consulting member states about its intention to pursue the dispute with AstraZeneca, which only delivered 29.8 million vaccines in the first quarter and plans to deliver 70 million more in the second, compared to the 300 million doses promised. “Last Friday, the Commission launched legal proceedings against the company AstraZeneca, on the basis of the breach of the advance purchase agreement,” EC health spokesperson Stefan de Keersmaecker said during of a press conference.

For its part, the laboratory replied that it “had fully respected” the contract for the sale of vaccines against COVID-19 with the European Commission and that, therefore, it will “firmly defend” itself in court.

“We believe that any dispute is unfounded and we welcome this opportunity to resolve this dispute as quickly as possible,” the company said in a statement.

According to the EC, the pharmaceutical company failed to comply with “certain clauses of the contract” and “the company was unable to provide a reliable strategy to ensure delivery of the doses”. “The Commission has initiated these legal actions in its own name and on behalf of the 27 Member States of the European Union”, he stressed.

Brussels said last week that it was finalizing a lawsuit against the laboratory, which under the contract signed last August must be settled in Belgian courts. But before filing the complaint, the Commission wanted support from all EU countries and some, such as France, Germany or the Netherlands, claimed to see the legal document before presenting it to court.

He also announced that he would not buy the additional 100 million doses he has the choice, according to the agreement signed by the EC, which centralizes the purchase of doses for the 27.

This is a further step in the strained relationship between the Commission and AstraZeneca since the start of the year, when the company announced it would fail deliveries without, according to Brussels, providing convincing explanations as to why .

The Community Executive asked in a letter to the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company of March 19 for an explanation of its delays, thus initiating the dispute settlement procedure provided for in the contract which has now reached the courts.

In a possible civil lawsuit, which would take several months, the Europeans could ask “for the termination of the contract for breach, with damages, or performance. [de las entregas], something improbable ”, estimated last week the Belgian lawyer Arnaud Jansen, who studied the contract.

Most countries in the EU have restricted the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine due to the very rare cases of blood clots it can cause. Denmark no longer uses it.

(With information from EFE and AFP)

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