EU Commission contradicts Donnelly’s assertion that Ireland has initiated legal case against AstraZeneca

The European Commission has contradicted Stephen Donnelly’s assertion that they have initiated a legal case against AstraZeneca over their failure to meet vaccination deadlines.

An EU Commission spokesperson said “no decision has yet been made” regarding a legal case against the pharmaceutical company.

“On 19 March, and following approval by the Member States, the Commission launched the dispute resolution process on the basis of the Advance Purchase Agreement,” the spokesperson said.

“Our sole objective remains the delivery of the doses we paid for, in line with the company’s contractual commitments. Together with the Member States, we are looking at all options to make this happen,” he added.

It emerged earlier that Ireland is supporting the European Commission’s plan to initiate a legal case against Astrazeneca for failing to hit delivery targets of the Covid-19 vaccine.

A legal case has been initiated by Brussels against the vaccine manufacturer.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly confirmed today that Ireland has joined the case against Astrazeneca as a party.

He said that the case relates to Astrazeneca’s “complete failure” to meet its delivery and contractual agreements.

"With regard to AstraZeneca, a legal case has been initiated by the (European) Commission and earlier this week I have joined Ireland as one of the parties to that legal case, specifically around AstraZeneca's complete failure to meet its delivery and contractual agreements for April, May and June," he told the Dáil.

Earlier this week, the HSE said that AstraZeneca delivery for this Saturday was reduced from 45,000 doses to just 9,000.