OREANDA-NEWS British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace responded to threats from the European Commission (EC) to block the export of coronavirus vaccines to other countries due to disrupted supplies to Europe. This information is reported by the Evening Standart agency.

Any attempt by Brussels to obstruct the supply of drugs from COVID-19 to Britain, he said, would be "counterproductive."

Ben Wallace also noted that if a decision is made to block the export of vaccines, the European Union will face devastating reputational costs for trade and diplomacy.

Earlier, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen threatened AstraZeneca with a ban on exporting its coronavirus vaccine from the European Union to other countries in connection with a sharp reduction in supplies. According to her, by the end of the first quarter, the manufacturer delivered only 30 percent of the volume of vaccines prescribed in the contract.

At the end of February, it was reported that Europe would miss tens of millions of doses of vaccine from AstraZeneca in the second quarter of this year. One of the reasons is a fire at a plant under construction for the production of the drug in the Indian city of Pune.