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Photo by ZUMA Press / Scanpix
Italy has blocked the export of a shipment of COVID-19 vaccines from Australia to the UK and the Swedish company AstraZeneca. This is the first time the EU vaccine export control mechanism has been used.
Rome has decided to prevent 250,000 doses of AstraZeneca from being exported to Australia. Italy notified Brussels of its decision late last week. The European Commission had the right to oppose Italy’s proposal not to allow the export of vaccines, but it did not.
Mario Draghi, the new Italian prime minister, has already said that the EU should tighten controls and impose sanctions on pharmaceutical companies that do not comply.
AstraZeneca’s Financial Times declined to comment on the situation and the European Commission has yet to do so. An Italian official emphasized that the decision was not unilateral and that the European Commission had contributed to it.
The SC has already written that it introduced the EU’s export control mechanism in late January in response to news released by vaccine manufacturers about late shipments of vaccines. The control mechanism was due to expire at the end of March, but the European Commission would like to extend it until the end of June, two EU officials told Reuters.
The CV recalls that when the EU announced the control of exports of vaccines produced in the EU, the decision was severely criticized. Importing countries of vaccines produced in the Community are concerned about possible interruptions in the supply chain. Under the mechanism introduced by the EU, companies must obtain an EU permit to export COVID-19 vaccines produced in the EU before they can be exported. If a company does not fulfill its obligations in the EU, the Community cannot issue such an export authorization.
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