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EU asks AstraZeneca to 'catch up' on COVID vaccine deliveries

WION Web Team
New DelhiUpdated: Mar 26, 2021, 10:08 AM IST
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(File photo) European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen Photograph:(AFP)

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These blunt words also threaten to deepen row with Britain as it is trying to secure AstraZeneca shipmen from EU.

European Union Chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that AstraZeneca needed to "catch up" on its COVID vaccine deliveries and could not export the vaccines out of the EU until the commitments are fulfilled.

"I think it is clear that first of all the company has to catch up, has to honour the contract it has with the European member states, before it can engage again in exporting vaccines," she told a news conference after an EU summit dominated by the bloc's struggling vaccination rollout.

These blunt words also threaten to deepen row with Britain as it is trying to secure AstraZeneca shipments from EU. This is being done to fill an abrupt hole in the supplies.

Brussels and London have both laid claim to vaccine stocks in an AstraZeneca factory in the Netherlands.

European Commission's stance of toughening rules on vaccine exports has not been received well in the UK but a joint statement by Britain and the EU said that both sides are looking to find a "win-win" solution.

(With AFP inputs)