European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said drugmaker AstraZeneca could face a ban on exports of coronavirus vaccine doses it produces in the EU if it did not meet its delivery obligations.
She told Germany’s Funke Media Group in an interview published Saturday that the EU had the “possibility” to ban exports. “This is a message to AstraZeneca: You fulfill your part of the deal toward Europe before you start to deliver to other countries,” she said.
On Wednesday, von der Leyen had already said that the EU was prepared to use the mechanisms it had in place to stop exports of vaccines from the bloc destined to countries that were producing their own doses and not exporting them in turn. She suggested that this was principally the U.K., as the U.S. was not importing doses, and was allowing for a free flow of vaccine ingredients.
Speaking to journalists, the Commission president also said that AstraZeneca was expected to deliver 30 million doses in the first quarter of the year, down from the expected 40 million — and much lower than the original target of 90 million doses.
The next day, the Commission announced it was planning to trigger a dispute-resolution process included in the terms of its contract with the company.
In the Saturday interview, von der Leyen remarked that the EU was exporting doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in the EU to the U.K., but was not receiving any doses back from British factories.
The company has two coronavirus vaccine production sites in the EU: one in Belgium and one in the Netherlands. Earlier this month, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said the Dutch plant was not sending doses to the U.K. after the implementation of export controls.
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