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By Francesco Guarascio
BRUSSELS, March 23 (Reuters) - The European Commission will
on Wednesday extend EU powers to block COVID-19 vaccine exports
to cover instances of companies backloading contracted quarterly
supplies into the bloc, an EU official said.
The move, designed to avoid even limited delays in
deliveries, could hit Johnson & Johnson, which has
announced delays in its supplies to the EU in the second
quarter, the official said, noting that all vaccine makers could
be affected if they do not comply with delivery timetables.
The EU this month blocked a shipment of AstraZeneca
vaccine to Australia using an export control mechanism set up at
the end of January.
That mechanism can at present be activated only if companies
do not comply with quarterly delivery targets set in their
contracts with the EU. AstraZeneca's export was blocked after
the company announced major cuts on its deliveries for the first
quarter.
With the amendments that will be adopted on Wednesday, the
EU will be able to block exports even if companies respect their
contract but are backloading supplies to the end of the quarter,
the official, who asked to remain anonymous, said.
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; editing by
John Stonestreet)
