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"The European Commission has started last Friday legal action against the company AstraZeneca on the basis of breach of the advanced purchase agreement," said a spokesperson from the European Commission.

AstraZeneca had committed to supplying 180 million doses to the EU in the second quarter of this year but has faced multiple delays to shipments. The vaccine was a key part of the bloc's vaccination plan. It is cheaper and easier to use than rival shots from Pfizer and Moderna and has been endorsed for use in over 50 countries.

EU officials have accused the company of failing to deliver on its commitment.

"The company has not been in the position to come up with a reliable strategy to ensure the timely delivery of doses. What matters to us, in this case, is that we want to make sure that there's a speedy delivery of a sufficient number of doses that European citizens are entitled to and which have been promised on the basis of the contract," European Commission spokesman Stefan De Keersmaecker continued. "So the Commission has indeed started legal action on its own behalf and on behalf of the 27 member states that are fully aligned in their support for this procedure."