No more vaccine exports until you fulfill your contracts, EU tells AstraZeneca

FILE PHOTO: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wears a mask as she attends a video call with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (not pictured) in Brussels, Belgium, March 19, 2021. Stephanie Lecocq/Pool via REUTERS

(Reuters) - AstraZeneca cannot export any more COVID-19 vaccines from Europe until is makes good on its contracts with the European Union, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said after a meeting of the leaders of the 27-nation bloc.

"We have to and want to explain to our European citizens that they get their fair share," she told a news conference late on Thursday, adding that companies had to honour their contracts with the EU before exporting to other regions. "And this is of course the case with AstraZeneca," von der Leyen said.