EU takes legal steps against AZ over delayed COVID-19 vaccine deliveries
Lawyers for the European Commission have asked the court to fine AZ €10m per infraction
Following months of ongoing disputes, the European Union (EU) is taking legal steps against AstraZeneca (AZ) over delayed deliveries of the Anglo-Swedish pharma company’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The EU’s legal proceedings against AZ were initially confirmed in April. European Commission spokesperson Stefan De Keersmaeker said: “The reason being the terms of the contract, or some terms of the contract, have not been respected, and the company has not been in a position to come up with a reliable strategy to ensure the timely delivery of doses.”
The European Commission has demanded an urgent court order requiring AstraZeneca to deliver millions more vaccines to the bloc or face a hefty fine, in a case that may reflect its anger more than its need for doses. “AstraZeneca did not even try to respect the contract,” the EU’s lawyer, Rafaël Jafferali, told a court in Brussels on Wednesday, saying the EU wanted €10 per dose for each day of delay as compensation for the company’s alleged.
BRUSSELS – A lawyer for the European Union (EU) accused AstraZeneca on Wednesday of failing to respect its contract with the 27-nation bloc for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines and asked a Belgian court to impose a large fine on the company. The EU took the Anglo-Swedish firm to court in April after the drug-maker said it would aim to deliver only 100 million doses of its vaccine by the end of …