ROBERT MICHAEL
After the urgent procedure, which is already under way, a main matter proceeding from September 24th will be about the exact legal examination of contractual obligations and possible violations, said a commission spokesman on Tuesday.
The purpose of both procedures is the same, however: the EU wants to get Astrazeneca to deliver the contractually promised vaccine doses. Specifically, it is initially about 90 million doses of corona vaccine: The company delivered 30 million vaccine doses to the EU in the first quarter instead of the guaranteed 120 million. Ultimately, fines are conceivable, said the spokesman. In the urgent procedure, however, the Commission first wants to obtain an interim order that will record its contractual claims. This will be heard in a court in Brussels on May 26th.
In total, the EU had ordered 300 million cans from Astrazeneca by the end of June. According to the latest forecasts, however, it should only be 100 million doses by then. Astrazeneca considers the dispute to be unfounded because the company interprets the contractual obligations differently than the Commission.
EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton said at the weekend that the contract with Astrazeneca had not been extended beyond June. Astrazeneca’s vaccine is now only used to a limited extent in some EU countries because it has been linked to very rare cases of brain thrombosis. However, it is still unrestrictedly approved by the EU Medicines Agency (EMA).