The EU is launching legal action against AstraZeneca over delayed shipments of its Covid-19 vaccine in the latest development in a months-long feud between Brussels and the company.
European leaders accuse the drugmaker of not respecting its contract with the 27-member union and failing to come up with a strategy to prevent shipment delays.
"We want to make sure there is a speedy delivery of a sufficient number of doses that European citizens are entitled to," said EU spokesman Stefan De Keersmaecker.
The EU's efforts to lead the vaccine drive across Europe were hampered by supply problems, leaving the EU trailing behind the UK and the US.
Brussels responded by imposing export controls and publishing its contract with AstraZeneca, in which the company committed to making "best reasonable efforts" to deliver 300 million doses by June.
Only 30 million were delivered in Q1 2021, and the company says it can only provide 70 million in Q2, rather than the 180 million doses it had promised.
Responding to Monday’s news, AstraZeneca said the legal action was “without merit” and said it would strongly defend itself in court.
“We welcome this opportunity to resolve this dispute as soon as possible,” said a statement by the company, which said it had fully complied with its advance purchase agreement with the EU.
AstraZeneca's CEO Pascal Soriot previously blamed some of the EU's problems on the bloc signing a contract three months later than Britain.
Mr De Keersmaecker said the EU's legal action was launched "on behalf of the 27 member states that are fully aligned in their support of this procedure".
Despite the EU's public battles to get hold of AstraZeneca doses, some European governments have struggled to persuade their citizens to take the vaccine.
The product has been the subject of a one-month back-and-forth over blood clots which EU regulators say are a very rare side-effect, but should not halt the use of the vaccine.
In the Netherlands, the head of the vaccination department at Dutch public health institute RIVM said that millions of AstraZeneca doses were likely to go unused.
Other vaccines will be so widely available that the supplies will not be needed, Jaap van Delden told Dutch newspaper AD.
The latest AstraZeneca development came as a new poll showed the EU receiving a negative approval rating for its handling of the pandemic, with the majority of people in Germany and France unhappy with the bloc's response.
The Eurobarometer survey found that 49 per cent of EU citizens were not satisfied with the efforts of Brussels, compared with 43 per cent that were.
The EU was also in negative territory in Italy, Greece and Belgium, among other countries, while citizens in Spain and the Netherlands were evenly divided.
Some countries were content with the EU’s response. More than 60 per cent of respondents in Denmark, Lithuania and Portugal said they were satisfied.
By a narrow margin, the EU’s response was more unpopular than the efforts of national governments, which, on average, scored 43 per cent approval and 46 per cent disapproval.
Europe is one of the hardest-hit regions, with 30 million cases confirmed and scientists estimating that the true number could be three times higher.
In addition to vaccines, the EU is co-ordinating efforts to resume summer travel across Europe by issuing a "digital green certificate" to its citizens.
This would allow travellers to prove they have tested negative, received a vaccine or recovered from Covid-19 in the previous 180 days.
Meanwhile, lockdown measures are a matter for national and sometimes regional governments, leading to a patchwork of restrictions across Europe.
The third wave of the pandemic forced numerous countries, including France and Germany, to enter new lockdowns.
Experts in Italy, Belgium and Switzerland warned against a hasty move to lift restrictions after numerous countries announced plans to ease them.
EU citizens expect prolonged economic pain from Covid-19
The EU also launched an economic response to the pandemic, agreeing to a €750 billion ($908m) recovery fund to rebuild shattered economies.
Nonetheless, the Eurobarometer poll showed that 61 per cent of EU citizens believed their country’s economy will not recover from the crisis until 2023 or later.
Only 29 per cent expected a bounce back in 2022 or sooner, with 8 per cent suggesting it would never recover.
The EU also touted a more favourable result in the poll, which showed that overall trust in the EU had risen six points since last summer to 49 per cent.
Citizens in Portugal and Ireland showed the greatest trust in the EU, with scores of 78 per cent and 74 per cent, respectively.
The lowest marks came from Greece, where only 37 per cent said they trusted the union.
The Greek economy is still recovering from a decade-long financial crisis in which it frequently clashed with Brussels.
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PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Results
Stage 5:
1. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Jumbo-Visma 04:19:08
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:03
3. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers
4. Sergio Higuita (COL) EF Education-Nippo 00:00:05
5. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:00:06
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 17:09:26
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers 00:00:45
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:01:12
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Team Jumbo-Visma 00:01:54
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo 00:01:56
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
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Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
