The European Union will require pharmaceutical companies to honor agreements they have signed for the supply of Covid-19 vaccines, European Council President Charles Michel said on Sunday.
Pfizer Inc last week said it was temporarily slowing down deliveries to Europe to make manufacturing changes that would increase production. On Friday, AstraZeneca also said that the first deliveries to the region will be missing due to a production error.
“We plan to get the pharmaceutical companies to respect the contracts they have signed … by using the legal means at our disposal,” Michel said on Radio 1 in Europe.
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Charles Michel says that pharmaceutical manufacturers will have to fulfill vaccine contracts
He did not mention possible sanctions but said the EU would insist on transparency about the reasons for the delays.
He said that after Pfizer’s initial warnings of delays of several weeks, the EU had succeeded in reducing these delays by taking a tough stance.
“We banged our fists on the table and finally announced delays of several weeks to a slowdown in deliveries,” he said.
(REUTERS)
