European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks to the media in Berlaymont, the European Commission’s headquarters.
Thierry Monasse
LONDON – The European Union placed temporary controls on exports of coronavirus vaccines inside the block on Friday, following a spit with British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and wider supply problems.
Recently, Pfizer received two massive blows, saying it will temporarily reduce production while improving its production capacity at its plant in Belgium. Last week, AstraZeneca also said it would deliver far fewer doses in the spring than expected in the spring, due to production problems at its plants in the Netherlands and Belgium.
After lobbying AstraZeneca this week to honor its commitments and then asked the company to move vaccines made in the UK en bloc, the EU confirmed on Friday that it is implementing temporary controls.
“Protecting the health of our citizens remains our top priority and we must take the necessary measures to ensure that we do this,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.
“This mechanism of transparency and authorization is temporary and, of course, we will continue to honor our commitments to low- and middle-income countries.”
Checks are expected to last until the end of March.
“This time-limited and targeted system covers only those Covid-19 vaccines that have been agreed through advanced procurement agreements with the EU,” said Valdis Dombrovskis, EU executive vice-president and trade commissioner.
“This mechanism includes a wide range of exemptions to fully honor our humanitarian aid commitments and to protect vaccine deliveries to our neighborhood and to countries in need of COVAX facilities.”
EU approves AstraZeneca vaccine
The European Union has been under pressure for what critics describe as a slow release of Covid vaccines. The European Commission, the institution that runs the purchase agreements, has been accused of not providing enough vaccines, and the health agency in the region has been criticized for taking too long to approve vaccinations that have been given the green light elsewhere.
On Friday, the European Medicines Agency approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use in the EU, about a month after it was first given the green light in the UK, which recently left the bloc.
Addressing CNBC on Friday, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin denied that this spit between Brussels and a British pharmaceutical company turned into another “Brexit battle”.
“All in all, I think the European Commission has behaved well and efficiently in terms of vaccine procurement,” he said. “There is a lot of tension there … a lot of pressure on the commission from the Member States, the prime ministers. Why? Because the people are under pressure, the people are under pressure.”