The first hearing in the legal action announced on Monday by the European Commission against AstraZeneca for failing to solve delivery problems of the coronavirus vaccine will take place this Wednesday 28 April.
The Commission's objective of the action for interim relief, which will be heard before the Court of First Instance in Brussels, is to increase deliveries of Covid-19 vaccines to the continent.
The reason for the legal action is that “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,” said Commission spokesperson Stefan De Keersmaeker.
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The Commission filed the legal action against the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company, which has been accused of favouring the United Kingdom in its deliveries, last Friday.
The contract between the Commission and AstraZeneca provided for 300 million doses of Covid vaccine by the end of the second quarter of 2021, and more than 100 million doses in the first quarter, but the continent eventually received just 30 million, according to De Keersmaecker.
For the second quarter, expectations were also lowered to around 70 million doses.
Lauren Walker
The Brussels Times
