EU Commission launches legal action against AstraZeneca

Brussels: The European Union's executive branch said Monday that it has launched legal action against Coronavirus vaccine-maker AstraZeneca for failing to respect the terms of its contract with the 27-nation bloc.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has been central to Europe's immunisation campaign, and a linchpin in the global strategy to get vaccines to poorer countries.

But the slow pace of deliveries has frustrated the Europeans and has been blamed in part for holding up the EU's vaccine rollout.

European Commission spokesman Stefan De Keersmaecker said that Brussels launched the legal action against AstraZeneca last Friday on the basis of breaches of the advance purchase agreement.

He said the reason for the legal action was that some terms of the contract have not been respected and that the company has not been in a position to come up with a reliable strategy to ensure a timely delivery of doses.

AstraZeneca's contract with the EU foresaw an initial 300 million doses for distribution among member countries, with an option for a further 100 million.