The dispute between the European Union and AstraZeneca continues after AstraZeneca delayed the delivery of millions of vaccines that the two had agreed to.
AstraZeneca initially agreed to give the EU 80 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine. They reduced that number to 31 million doses and the EU said they received even less than that amount, Associated Press reported.
“Our contract is not a contractual commitment, it is the best effort,” Pascal Soriot, executive director of AstraZeneca, said in an interview with an Italian newspaper. “Basically, we said we would do our best, but we can’t guarantee that we will succeed. In fact, when we get there, we’re a little behind. “
Originally, the EU had to pay AstraZeneca 336 million euros ($ 407 million). An EU official told the Associated Press that the EU will recover some of its money if AstraZeneca does not comply with its agreement.
The EU even threatened on Monday to establish export controls for any coronavirus vaccine manufactured in the EU.
“I call on AstraZeneca to fully commit to rebuilding trust, providing complete information and fulfilling its contractual, social and moral obligations,” said Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety.
Kyriakides said that if AstraZeneca is unable to meet its commitment to EU facilities, it should send some of the vaccines it is manufacturing to the UK. The statement comes after the UK seceded from the EU.
AstraZeneca is not yet approved by EU drug regulators, but is expected to be reviewed on Friday. Right now, only Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have been authorized for use in the EU.
AstraZeneca expects to distribute three billion doses of the coronavirus vaccine by the end of this year.