European Commission's lawsuit against AstraZeneca gets underway

BarcelonaThe litigation between the European Commission and AstraZeneca came to court in Brussels on Wednesday. At the preliminary hearing, the Commission's lawyers have asked the judge for injunctions to force the drugmaker to hand over production from factories in Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK, arguing that "every day counts". It is the latest chapter in the bitter dispute, in which European authorities are demanding that the Anglo-Swedish company honour its contract, as it had committed to making 300 million doses of the vaccine available to European states during the first half of the year. AstraZeneca has said that, due to production problems, it will only be able to deliver 100 million. The case is being heard in an emergency procedure. The next hearing is set for May 26.

With the pandemic still raging across the continent, AstraZeneca was supposed to be key to Europe's immunisation strategy, as well as that of poorer countries, thanks to its lower price. But difficulties in production, and the discovery of rare side effects in the form of thrombi have led some countries to limit its use or even do without the vaccine, as in the case of Denmark.

The lawyer representing AstraZeneca has argued that the contract does not include an obligation to deliver doses manufactured in all plants and has regretted the Commission's decision to take the case to court. The company has reproached Brussels that the countries of the European Union do not really have urgency to obtain their doses because, precisely, they are limiting their use. On the contrary, the European executive has pointed out that this does not happen in all states and has criticised the pharmaceutical company for the lack of "clarity" on delivery forecasts.