Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin on Monday (22) expressed strong opposition to the European Union (EU)’s embargo on exports.

“I am really against it. I believe this will be a very backward move, ”the Irish leader told RTE, a public radio and television station.

The statement came after European Commission President Ursula von Der Lane on Saturday threatened to block the release of AstraZeneca vaccines in the country if the 27 members of the block did not receive the deliveries promised by the British laboratory.

The European leader recalled that the EU agreement with AstraZeneca would help distribute the doses produced in the group’s territory and in the United Kingdom.

Despite the “severe tensions” between Brussels and AstraZeneca, it is imperative that the “non-contractual supply chain” be kept open, Martin argued.

The Irish Prime Minister has warned that if the EU begins to create obstacles, other countries could do the same with vaccine-producing components.

“If all the countries on every continent start doing this, we will have problems with everyone,” he warned.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the EU will not impose sanctions on vaccines after talks with European leaders over the past few months.

“We all have the same epidemic, we all have the same problems,” said the British Conservative leader.

“Immunizations, vaccine development, and relocation: these are international projects that require international cooperation,” Johnson added when he visited the facilities of the British defense giant BAE Systems in the North West of England.

Johnson ressed that the United Kingdom would continue to vaccinate “as soon as possible”, warning that a third wave of the epidemic affecting Europe today could hit his country.

The British Immunization Campaign, launched on December 8, uses immunizations. It has allowed more than 27.6 million people to receive at least one dose so far, more than half of the country’s adults.