Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, gives a press release at the end of a video conference meeting of the members of the European Council focused on the Covid-19 pandemic, on 21 January 2021.
OLIVIER HOSLET | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – The European Union released an edited version of the contract with AstraZeneca on Friday as the group puts pressure on the drugmaker to deliver the Covid vaccine supply it promised.
The EU, which has been criticized for slowing vaccinations, was hit hard by AstraZeneca last week when the company said it would only be able to deliver a fraction of the shots agreed for the first quarter.
AstraZeneca has denied failing to meet its obligations, saying delivery figures to the 27-nation bloc are targets rather than promises. The company also cited production problems at its European plants due to the delays.
The European Medicines Agency is expected to decide whether to approve the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, spoke to German radio on Friday morning: “There are binding orders and the contract is crystal clear.”
“AstraZeneca has also expressly assured us in this contract that no other obligations can fulfill the contract,” she told Reuters.
The head of the EU’s executive arm claims that the agreement contains clear delivery amounts for December and the first three quarters of 2021.
AstraZeneca was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC on Friday.
Concerns about international competition
Earlier this week, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot allegedly said that the EU contract was based on a so-called “best effort” clause and that the drug manufacturer was not formally committed to a specific timetable for delivery.
The EU’s von der Leyen rejected this proposal on Friday, adding that the clause is only valid if it is unclear whether AstraZeneca can develop a safe and effective vaccine. She also claimed that the contract specifically mentioned four production sites that would supply the vaccine to Europe, two of which are in Britain.
EU officials have indicated that supplies from the UK could be diverted to Europe if the delays in European production continue.
The EU, with a population of about 450 million people, is struggling to get its vaccination action in gear because it does not have enough supplies and is currently far behind countries like Israel and the UK to deliver vaccines to its citizens.
A view of the central office of the British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca as a Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca was inspected on 28 January 2021 in Brussels, Belgium.
Dursun Aydemir | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Vaccine manufacturer Pfizer-BioNTech first struck it, announcing that it had to temporarily reduce production to improve its production capacity in Belgium. Following this, AstraZeneca follows its delivery estimates for the region last Friday.
One unnamed senior EU official told Reuters that the bloc expected about 80 million doses by March, but was told he would receive only 31 million doses. The company did not confirm the quantities involved.
A deeper dispute between the EU and AstraZeneca has raised concerns about international competition for limited vaccine supplies. It is hoped that the vaccination could help end the coronavirus pandemic.
CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.