Parliamentary question

Written question to the European Commission

According to the agreement reached in August 2020 with the EU, AstraZeneca had been set to deliver about 80 million doses to the 27 EU Member States by March 2021.

In January 2021, AstraZeneca declared that because of production problems and the resulting supply constraints, the number of initial doses for EU Member States would be reduced.

According to a report in the British newspaper The Telegraph, however, AstraZeneca may have cut supplies intended for EU countries in order to sell doses to other nations at higher prices.

At the same time, Pfizer announced on 15 January that it was temporarily reducing deliveries of vaccines to the EU until late January while it upgraded production facilities. As a result, vaccinations in some parts of the EU are being held up and, in some cases, completely halted.

1. What measures, including legal action if needed, will the Commission take to find out exactly how many doses have been produced by AstraZeneca and to whom they have been delivered?

2. Similarly, what measures will it take to ensure that pharmaceutical companies’ contractual obligations to the EU will be met with regard to the number of vaccines delivered, and to ensure that the contracts will be fully published?

Answer given by Commissioner Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission

The Commission’s main objective is to ensure the speedy delivery of vaccines in line with the Advanced Purchase Agreements (APAs).

The Commission has worked to support and mitigate the difficulties associated with the rapid development of vaccines with funding provided through the APAs, but the Commission cannot anticipate delays if not advised in good time by the companies in question.

The APAs contain binding orders concerning both the number of vaccine doses to be delivered and the timing of deliveries. What matters is that the six companies fulfil their legal obligations.

In relation to AstraZeneca, the Commission has taken unprecedented measures and decided to bring legal proceedings against AstraZeneca for breach of the APA concluded with the company on 27 August 2020 for the supply of 300 million COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the second quarter of 2021.

The Commission is acting on its own behalf and on behalf of the 27 Member States, which fully aligned in support of the Commission on the need to ensure timely and effective implementation of the APA concluded with AstraZeneca.

The Commission is doing everything in its power to support the rollout of vaccines in Europe, including by increasing the availability of vaccines in the coming weeks and months.

The Commission and BioNTech-Pfizer have come to an agreement to accelerate the delivery of 60 million additional doses to the second quarter, increasing the total number of doses to be delivered in this quarter to 250 million.

The Commission is committed to transparency and accountability and has published the contracts concluded with AstraZeneca, CureVac, Sanofi-GSK, BioNTech/Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna — which are available in redacted form on the Commission’s website.