PARIS, March 23 (Reuters) - French Europe Minister Clement
Beaune said on Tuesday that the European Union wanted
reciprocity with Britain over the supply of the AstraZeneca
coronavirus vaccine.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said
AstraZeneca could face a ban on exports for the EU of doses if
it did not meet its delivery obligations to the bloc.
"We are telling AstraZeneca: we can understand you have
production issues but there is no reason for Europe to be the
adjustment variable," Beaune told France Info radio.
"We want to avoid that AstraZeneca doses produced in Europe
go to Britain when we are not receiving anything. We want to
make sure the reciprocity principle applies," the minister said.
"AstraZeneca says: I am experiencing delays, we say:
mobilise your plants for us and if you don't, we will block
exports to the UK. We will discuss that on Thursday and Friday
at the European Council," he added.
French Junior Economy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told
BFM television on Tuesday that it was up to AstraZeneca to act.
"We must find a solution so that AstraZeneca progressively
returns to supply levels initially specified in their contracts.
One can understand they face industrial hurdles but one cannot
understand differences in treatment between various areas," she
said.
"AstraZeneca has two large plants in Europe from which it
can supply us and it has plants in other zones. It is up to them
to propose an action plan," she added.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Edmund Blair)