The EU goes to war over the vaccine

German politics is backing Brussels in the ongoing dispute between the EU and AstraZeneca over Covid vaccine shipments. The European Union alleges that the pharma firm, which is producing the Oxford-developed vaccine, is planning to supply the UK faster and while failing to fulfil its contract with Brussels. A meeting on Wednesday between officials and representatives from the Cambridge-based company was described as ‘constructive’ but no solution was found.

Meanwhile, Martin Schulz, the former president of the European Parliament and prominent German Social Democrat, called for hard action against AstraZeneca. ‘This company is heavily dominated by the Brits and has apparently clear priorities as to which countries it supplies,’ he said. ‘If that is the case, then the European Commission and the German government have to intervene in a hard way. It cannot be that AstraZeneca decides which countries it supplies based on political considerations.’

AstraZeneca’s CEO Pascal Soriot has already denied the accusations and played the ball back into Brussel’s court, claiming that AstraZeneca is not obliged to provide specific deliveries.