Covid-19: EU sues AstraZeneca for delays in vaccine deliveries
The European Union has announced that it is launching legal action against the AstraZeneca laboratory for not having kept its commitments to deliver anti-Covid vaccines.
REUTERS - YVES HERMAN
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
The European Union announced Monday, April 26, to launch legal action against the AstraZeneca laboratory for not having kept its commitments to deliver anti-Covid vaccines.
A legal procedure that the Swedish-British group considers "
unfounded
", and he expressed in the wake of his desire to defend himself.
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On the one hand, the European Union relies on the figures: it received only 30 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine in the first quarter against 120 million promised in the contract.
And in the second quarter, only 70 million doses are expected to be delivered, while the agreement promised 180 million.
On the other hand, AstraZeneca defends itself, recalling that increasing production takes time.
The group assures that 50 million additional doses will be delivered to the EU by the end of April.
And he should advance the argument that he also has other contracts to honor, as with the United Kingdom for example.
►
Review our graphic frieze: AstraZeneca, chronology of a mistrust
Towards a break with the group?
Anyway, the legal proceedings launched by the Twenty-Seven should end before the courts of Brussels, since it is a contract under Belgian law that has been signed.
The Europeans should either demand the termination of the contract for non-performance and obtain damages, or its application at all costs.
This second option seems rather unlikely;
the Commission has already announced that it has not activated the option available to it to purchase an additional 100 million doses of AstraZeneca.
As the signal of a break with the group.
► To read also:
In Sweden, more and more doses of AstraZeneca end up in the trash
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European Union
Vaccines
Coronavirus