EU to send formal letter to AstraZeneca in Covid vaccine dispute

The EU is to send a formal letter to AstraZeneca in an attempt to resolve its dispute over vaccine supplies, a spokesperson has said, as it emerged that capitals including Paris, Berlin and Rome backed the bloc’s threat to halt vaccine exports to countries that were not reciprocating, including Britain.

The Anglo-Swedish company has said it will not be able to meet its contractual commitment of 300m doses for the EU in the first half of the year but instead will be able to supply only 100m due to production problems and export restrictions.

“We plan to send a letter to AstraZeneca that will allow us to begin a dialogue with the company as part of a process to resolve the dispute,” the European commission spokesperson said, adding that the letter would be discussed with EU governments before being sent.

The EU’s contract with AstraZeneca stipulates that in the event of a dispute the two sides should first try to resolve it through informal discussions. The spokesperson would not say if the move marked the beginning of a possible legal case, Reuters reported.

Diplomats and officials said on Thursday a threat by the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, on Wednesday to halt exports of Covid-19 vaccines to Britain unless the UK starts shipping shots to the bloc had the backing of big member states.

Von der Leyen said the EU wanted to see reciprocity and proportionality in vaccine exports and was “ready to use whatever tool we need to deliver on that”, adding: “This is about making sure that Europe gets its fair share.”

She said the EU had exported 41m doses to 33 countries in the past six weeks, including 10m to the UK, but “we’re still waiting for doses to come from the UK”.

Diplomats and officials said on Thursday that countries including Germany, Italy, France and Denmark supported the commission’s hardline position, while the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland were more cautious.

“It’s all stemming from a growing frustration with AstraZeneca and being under increased pressure to do something about it,” one diplomat told Reuters. “We don’t have enough vaccines, we export like crazy without getting anything.”