Miguel Troncoso in CGAE article on the EU case against AstraZeneca

Miguel Troncoso, managing partner of the Brussels office of Gómez-Acebo & Pombo and expert in competition law and State aid, has contributed to the article published on the website of the General Council of Spanish Lawyers. delves into the EU’s demand aimed at securing doses contracted to the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, rather than receiving compensation. According to Troncoso’s opinion, “the supply contract does not provide for contractual penalties or compensation in favour of the EU in the event of non-compliance, at least in the version that has been made public. Therefore, the lawsuit is aimed at obliging AstraZeneca to supply the vaccines in the agreed quantity and on time”.

In addition, it should be noted that “the version of the contract that has come to light is not complete, since confidential information or AstraZeneca’s business secrets have been concealed,” Troncoso points out. As the company maintains, the contract was signed on the basis of what is known as “best efforts”, that is to say, that it was committed to doing “everything possible” to comply with the agreement. This undertaking was affected, according to AstraZeneca, first by a storm at the end of January that affected the production line at its factory in Wales, and subsequently by the suspension of vaccination in many countries after side effects were detected in some people receiving the vaccine.

Read the full article here