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Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Where are the pre-financed cans?
Europe feels betrayed by Astrazeneca
The manufacturer Astrazeneca does not even want to deliver half of the 80 million guaranteed doses of vaccine to the EU. However, she fights back. Because apparently other customers are not affected by delivery problems. Liese, an EPP health politician, accuses the group of “playing badly”.
In the dispute over unilaterally cut vaccine deliveries, EU representatives suspect that the manufacturer Astrazeneca wants to mislead Europeans. In contrast to the group’s representation, “it’s not that they can’t deliver, but that they have decided to deliver what they can deliver to other parts of the world, including the UK,” said EPP health expert Peter Liese. from the Berlin radio station Radio Eins. The MEP accused Astrazeneca of “playing badly”.
EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides is also investigating the suspicion that Astrazeneca had already delivered EU-produced and pre-funded vaccine doses to other recipients last year. The EU now wants to see “consideration” of pre-financing, Kyriakides said. They wanted to know exactly which cans were produced by Astrazeneca and where they were delivered and to whom. “The company’s responses to these questions so far have not been satisfactory. Protecting citizens and their rights.”
Astrazeneca has been in the crossfire since last Friday, when the company announced that it could only deliver a good 30 million doses to the EU in the coming weeks instead of the agreed 80 million doses of vaccines. The reason is problems “in the European supply chain”. Critics of the EU do not find this reasoning convincing. There is suspicion that Astrazeneca initially wants to supply customers who, like Britain, have agreed to a higher price than the EU, which has taken over the procurement of vaccines for all 27 member states.
“Commission shows weapons”
The EU had already co-financed several vaccine projects with more than two billion euros last year, long before it was clear when the preparations could be approved. This should allow mass production to start even before approval. Astrazeneca received hundreds of millions of euros and began manufacturing its vaccine in the fall.
Liese called Astrazeneca’s approach “completely unacceptable.” “This is a breach of contract,” said the health politician. However, he assumes that this position cannot be maintained for the company. Regardless of the details of the contract and a possible legal dispute, the group could not afford to take over the “world’s largest single market.” “The commission is now showing them the weapons. Then things will improve in the next few days, I am convinced of that,” Liese said.
As a first consequence of the dispute, the EU Commission suggested that the 27 member states introduce an “export transparency mechanism,” Kyriakides said. “In the future, all companies manufacturing Covid-19 vaccines in the EU will need to report vaccine exports to third countries in due time,” Kyriakides demanded. German Health Minister Jens Spahn went even further. He reiterated his request for restrictions on the export of vaccines produced in the EU. He was in favor of “that vaccines leaving the EU need a permit so that at least we know what is manufactured, what comes out of Europe and, when it leaves Europe, if there will be a fair distribution,” Spahn told ZDF. .
