THE European Union blamed today AstraZeneca for a “gross breach” of the contract it had concluded with the 27-member Union for the supply of vaccines against Covid-19, stressing that the pharmaceutical company did not even try to comply with deliveries of the vaccines he underwent.
In this dispute with the Belgian judiciary, the first attack was made by the lawyer Rafael Zefarelli, who defends the interests of the Commission member countries (which negotiated the terms of the purchase on their behalf).
The lawyer told the court that the EU is asking for 10 euros for each day of delay for each installment as compensation from AstraZeneca for non-compliance with its contract with the EU.
Rafael Zefareli stated that the EU is also asking for 10 million euros from AstraZeneca for any breach of contract that the judge finds.
The verdict is expected next month.
The EU accuses AstraZeneca of delivering only 30 million doses of its vaccine in the first quarter of 2021, ie 25% of the quantities promised under a contract concluded last September.
The Swedish-British pharmaceutical group denies any breach of the terms of the agreement and considers it “unfounded” to bring an action against it before the Brussels Civil Court.
The issue is sensitive because the much more limited than planned deliveries of this vaccine – one of the four licensed in the EU against coronavirus – have slowed down vaccination campaigns during the winter.
Discussions revolve around the interpretation of the concept of “best reasonable efforts” to satisfy the customer, in this case the EU countries.
The European Union considers, unlike the laboratory, that these efforts were not made by the latter, which for too long had favored the supply of the United Kingdom at the expense of the continental European market.
Lawyer Zefareli explained during the hearing that, in the weeks following the September agreement, the Dutch plant of AstraZeneca (which Halix operates as a subcontractor) had continued to cater to markets other than the EU.
“The best reasonable efforts require flexibility! “Why did the Halix plant not start supplying the EU until October 13?” The lawyer asked.
“AstraZeneca did not even use all the tools at its disposal,” Zefareli said, adding that the group could have mobilized “six production plants at the time to meet the set schedule.”
The Halix plant in Leiden, the Netherlands, also shipped vaccines to Japan late last year, he said.
In total, “50 million installments were sent to third countries in gross breach of contract,” Zefareli complained.
Following the failure of an amicable settlement attempt, the European Commission announced on 26 April that it had brought the matter to justice.
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