Italy has blocked the export of 250,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to Australia in an escalation of a row with the Anglo-Swedish company, writes CNN.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s spokesperson Paola Ansuini confirmed the move to CNN, adding that Italy and the European Commission had agreed on the action. This is the first time that such EU measures have been used for vaccines.

Italy’s Foreign Ministry explained its decision to block AstraZeneca from exporting its vaccine, citing the company’s delays in supplying its vaccine to Italy and the European Union, and noting that Australia is not considered a “vulnerable” nation by the EU.

According to the ministry statement, Italy has previously authorized the company’s export of “modest quantities of samples intended for scientific research activities”, but flagged the shipment in question because it involved 250,700 doses.

The statement cited “the high number of vaccine doses subject to the export authorization request compared to the amount of doses provided to Italy and, more generally, to EU countries so far”.

AstraZeneca has declined to comment on the Italian decision.