It has remained a dead letter.
In a seven-page letter sent to AstraZeneca on March 19, the European Commission listed the laboratory's failures to meet its commitments and asked for explanations, within twenty days.
The deadline has now passed, and AstraZeneca has so far not deigned to respond, according to information from
Corriere della Sera
.
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A dispute resolution protocol
In its letter with a firm tone, the European Commission arrives
"at the conclusion that AstraZeneca has not respected, and continues not to respect, its contractual obligations of production and delivery of 300 million doses for Europe".
She also believes that the laboratory has not made all the necessary efforts to honor its commitments, an approach "
incomprehensible
" according to her.
Hence a request for explanations.
Read also: AstraZeneca vaccine: a bad signal for the French
This letter was to be the first step in a dialogue to overcome the problems between the European Union (EU) and AstraZeneca.
Indeed, the Commission's approach fits perfectly into the dispute settlement process that had been negotiated.
The EU-AstraZeneca contract for the delivery of vaccines provides that in the event of disagreement, a dispute must be notified by mail before proceeding to a "
meeting to resolve the problem with negotiations in good faith."
"
Warning shots
The European Union (EU) has much to be dissatisfied with.
While AstraZeneca was due to provide 120 million doses by the end of March, it received just over 30 million.
A massive delay which aggravates relations with the laboratory, while the Union has multiplied the warning shots in recent weeks.
On March 25, Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen reminded the Swedish-British laboratory of its obligations, declaring that “
companies honor their contracts with the EU before exporting elsewhere in the world.
"
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"
Obviously, AstraZeneca has not honored its commitments and in a way, they are laughing at us Europeans,
" criticized the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, guest of the RTL Grand Jury-
Le Figaro
-LCI this Sunday, April 11.
According to him, it is not excluded that the dispute will be resolved through legal proceedings.
A spokesman for the European Commission, however, tempers and tells Reuters that at this stage, "
we are still waiting for the necessary information.
We are keeping in touch with AstraZeneca to ensure that we receive a sufficient number of doses on time.
"