EU publishes AstraZeneca Covid vaccine contract

29 January 2021 | UK NEWS

The European Commission has made its Covid vaccine contract with AstraZeneca public, following the major dispute over supplies. This followed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s decision to increase pressure on the company after its reduction of supplies to the EU.

The contract, signed in August, reportedly contained “binding orders” and Von der Leyen called for an explanation when she appeared on German radio. The vaccine has been approved by EU regulators this afternoon. The decision to publish the contract has been seen as an attempt to back the EU’s argument that AstraZeneca is reneging on its commitments.

With the agreement of AstraZeneca, large sections of the contract have been redacted to protect sensitive information. These sections include paragraphs dealing with costs, promised delivery dates, and intellectual property. There has been a debate following the phrase in the contract that states “best reasonable efforts”.

The deal agreed was for 300 million doses of vaccine to be delivered to the EU following its regulatory approval, with the option for an additional 100 million. EU sources are now saying that they are only expecting 25 million jabs by March, a shortfall of 75 million. AstraZeneca have blamed production problems at its plants in the Netherlands and Belgium.

AstraZeneca’s Chief Executive, Pascal Soriot, said in an interview earlier this week that the contract obliged the corporation to make its “best efforts” to meet EU demand, however it did not compel the company to stick to a specific timetable. This is the main source of disagreement between the EU and AstraZeneca.

The EU is expected to unveil special powers soon to help ensure its supply of vaccines, including a possible limit on the export of vaccines produced in the bloc. There is also some speculation that these powers could also see companies being forced to hand over production to other firms inside the EU and share intellectual property.

However, the European Council is stressing the need for negotiations in order to reach a solution before enforcement is deemed necessary. EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders has warned of a “vaccine war”.

Speaking on Belgian radio, Reynders said: “The EU commission has pushed to co-ordinate the vaccine contracts on behalf of the 27 precisely to avoid a vaccine war between EU countries, but maybe the UK wants to start a vaccine war?”.

He added: “Solidarity is an important principle of the EU. With Brexit, it’s clear that the UK doesn’t want to show solidarity with anyone.”