Filenews 29 January 2021 - by Marilena Panagi
In a war of strong nerves, the conflict between the European Union and AstraZeneca is developing against the backdrop of vaccines against coronavirus.
The controversy that erupted about a week ago, following the company's announcement that it was unable to deliver the agreed quantities of vaccines to the Member States of the Union, citing the production potential of its two factories in the Netherlands and Belgium, is holding up well, while yesterday in the "war" between the two warring sides, the United Kingdom intervened, making it clear that no quantities of vaccines will be exported from its territory to other countries.
The European Union, using the route of warnings and when the path of negotiation with the company, is trying to unblock the procedures, already under fire from within, as the vaccination programmes of Member States are now at very serious risk with countries, such as Spain, having been forced to stop vaccinations in their population.
READ ALSO: AstraZeneca to publish contract with EU
The scene at European level on the eve of the European Medicines Agency's approval process for astraZeneca vaccine, while the fate of the vaccination programmes of the EU Member States, including Cyprus, remained unknown until late last night.
Italy and Poland have warned of legal action against the company, a tactic which the EU is not excluded from following.
"The European Union must consider legal means to ensure its supply of vaccines against Covid-19 disease, which it must obtain under contract, if negotiations with companies on delays in deliveries fail," European Council President Charles Michel said in a letter, adding: "If a satisfactory solution cannot be found, I believe that we must consider all alternatives and make use of all the legal and enforcement measures we have in in accordance with the Treaties".
Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakidou, at a news conference, spoke of "inadequate explanations from the company", which caused "deep dissatisfaction in the Member States". "The 27 Member States of the European Union are united in the fact that AstraZeneca must fulfil its commitments in our agreement" stressed the European Commissioner, adding that "pharmaceutical companies, those that produce vaccines, have moral, social and contract responsibilities, which they must honour". In fact, the competent European Commission warned the company, with the disclosure of the relevant contract, and behind-the-scenes consultations resulted, early yesterday afternoon, in leaking through the German press information that "AstraZeneca has agreed to make the procurement contract public with the European Union".
The Commission, through its representatives Eric Mamer and Stefan De Casemacker, has clarified that it is in discussions with the company, making it clear that it expects to receive instalments from all AstraZeneca plants listed in the contract with the EU as production sites, including two factories in the UK. At the same time, the EU considers that there is no contractual differentiation of the four plants on European soil, which the company initially interpreted differently.
On the part of the company, however, immediately after the episodic meeting with the relevant European Commission on Wednesday, a written statement was issued in which once again no clear reference was made to the time when AstraZeneca would be able to supply the EU with the agreed quantities of vaccines: "We had a constructive and open discussion about the complexities of increasing the scale of our vaccine production and the challenges we have encountered. We have committed to even closer coordination to jointly chart a path for the delivery of our vaccine in the coming months, as we continue our efforts to bring this vaccine to millions of Europeans without profit during the pandemic."
READ ALSO: Vaccines: Angry EU threatens to block exports
Order for 'raid' on Belgian factory
The EU's distrust of the company's arguments was also clear from what had unfolded in Belgium, a country where one of AstraZeneca's two plants is based, on the territory of the Union.
At the Commission's request, the Belgian Federal Medicines Agency (FAMHP) carried out an inspection of AstraZeneca's vaccine production plant in Senefe (Aino, Wallonia), the Belgian Flemish-speaking newspaper De Standard reported.
The newspaper cites confirmation from Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke's spokesman. "At the request of the Commission, the Minister of Health Vandenbroucke instructed FAMHP to carry out an inspection at the Novasep plant. The aim is to certify that the delivery delay is indeed due to a production problem at the Belgian plant." "Belgian experts are now examining the data collected, along with experts from the Netherlands, Italy and Spain."
Great Britain's official No.
British Government Secretary of State Michael Gove told BBC radio yesterday morning that there would be no disruption to AstraZeneca's supply chain of vaccines, despite the EU's request to take from the company a quantity of vaccines made on British soil.
According to Mr Gove, Britain must ensure that it continues to speed up the vaccination programme against the crown. 'This depends on compliance with the agreed vaccine procurement programme. That's the first and most important thing," he said.
He went on to mention the importance of dialogue, cooperation and friendship in order to vaccinate as many citizens as possible in EU countries as well. Asked if the Government would allow astraZeneca vaccines ordered first in London to be delivered to the EU, Mr Gove replied 'no'.
In the shadows, today's approval of the vaccine
The EMA (European Medicines Agency) plans to hold a press conference today on the possible authorisation (CMA) of the AZ vaccine if the data are "sufficient and complete" as announced. Earlier, Emer Cook, the agency's chief executive, had left open the possibility of approval for use only for specific age groups.
