European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen on Saturday threatened to block exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine because of delivery delays within the European Union.

"I support" this proposal, says Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister Delegate in charge of Industry, Monday on Europe 1. 

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France is engaged in the standoff between the European Union (EU) and the AstraZeneca laboratory, which produces one of the vaccines against Covid-19.

In the second quarter, this laboratory should deliver 70 million doses of its vaccine to the EU, much less than the 180 million promised in the contract.

This also provides for the delivery of doses produced both on the territory of the EU and in the United Kingdom, but nothing has been received from across the Channel on the European side.

This provoked the wrath of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

On Saturday, she threatened to block exports of this vaccine, especially to the United Kingdom.

"I support Ursula Von der Leyen's proposal," said Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister Delegate in charge of Industry, Monday at the microphone of Patrick Cohen, on Europe 1.

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"We intend this contract to be honored with AstraZeneca"

According to her, the reason is "very simple".

"We have signed a contract on the same terms as the UK and we intend this contract to be honored with AstraZeneca," she continues.

Otherwise, vaccine exports could be blocked, especially to the United Kingdom.

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While the laboratory "will have delivered at the end of March 25% of the doses provided for in its contract", "we have anyway the possibility" of implementing a blockage, insists the minister.

It also emphasizes that the 27 are "equipped with an instrument to block exports".

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"It is not a question of forbidding everything"

"We use it with measure, because the supply chains are global", however nuances Agnès Pannier-Runacher.

"So it is not a question of banning everything."

The fact remains that for the minister, the delays in AstraZeneca delivery cannot "be justified by industrial difficulties in this proportion".

Especially since the United Kingdom has not recorded such delays.

For Agnès Pannier-Runacher, it is therefore "important to ensure that AstraZeneca applies its contract and brings additional doses to the EU as soon as possible".