The EU should consider legal means to secure vaccine doses promised by drug companies including AstraZeneca, the president of the European Council has said.

Charles Michel made the comments in a letter as Brussels and AstraZeneca are embroiled in an escalating row over the EU’s slow start to its inoculation programme.

The European Commission has asked Belgian authorities to inspect production at a plant in Belgium that makes the AstraZeneca vaccine, where problems have led to a large shortfall in supply.

Belgium’s Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAGG) said on Thursday that the EU executive, which has coordinated vaccine orders for the European Union, had requested an inspection of production flows.

The row has come about after AstraZeneca announced it would have to cut the amount of jabs delivered to the bloc’s 27 nations before the end of March from 80 million to 31 million, citing production issues at European factories.

Brussels believes it will get even less than that – just one quarter of the doses that member states were supposed to get during the first three months of 2021 – and has accused AstraZeneca of a breach of contract.

Mr Michel, who represents the EU’s 27 member states, said in a letter to four EU leaders: “I support all efforts to resolve the matter with companies through dialogue and negotiation,

“However, if no satisfactory solution can be found, I believe we should explore all options and make use of all legal means and enforcement measures at our disposal under the Treaties.”

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