The move would mark a further step in EU plan to sever ties with the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker after the company repeatedly cut supplies to the bloc, contributing to major delays in Europe's vaccine rollout.
Brussels had originally ordered 120 million doses of the Anglo-Swedish group's jab for the 27 member states in the first quarter and 180 million in the second quarter. But the drugmaker only delivered 30 million, thus creating the problems that everyone has seen, Breton said.
The European Commission, in agreement with the leaders of many (EU) countries, has decided that the contracts with the companies that produce (viral vector) vaccines that are valid for the current year will not be renewed at their expiry.
The European Union on Tuesday warned pharmaceutical giants that have developed coronavirus vaccines with EU aid that it must get its shots on schedule, a day after the bloc threatened to impose export controls on vaccines produced within its borders.
AstraZeneca, which developed its shot with Oxford University, told the EU on Friday that it could not meet the agreed supply targets running up to the end of March, with an EU official telling Reuters that meant a 60% cut to 31 million doses.
The Amsterdam-based EMA is carrying out "rolling reviews" designed to speed up vaccine approval times on three candidates: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Oxford University-AstraZeneca.
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