'EU seeks to access AstraZeneca vaccines produced in US'

The EU also reportedly wants Washington to ensure the free flow of shipments of crucial vaccine ingredients

The European Union will urge the United States to permit the export of millions of doses of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine to Europe, underlining Brussels' scramble to bridge supply shortfalls, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

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The EU also wants Washington to ensure the free flow of shipments of crucial vaccine ingredients needed in European production, according to the FT.

"We trust that we can work together with the US to ensure that vaccines produced or bottled in the Us for the fulfilment of vaccine producers' contractual obligations with the EU will be fully honoured,” the newspaper quoted the European Commission as saying.