BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission has failed to allow the public sufficient access to information about COVID-19 vaccine purchase contracts it signed with pharmaceutical companies during the pandemic, the EU General Court said Wednesday.
The decision came a day before the European Parliament votes in which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is seeking re-election.
A group of EU lawmakers had launched legal action after the European Commission failed to allow full access to COVID-19 vaccine contracts signed between the EU’s executive body and manufacturers.
The pandemic has highlighted transparency issues surrounding vaccine negotiations between the EU and big pharmaceutical groups. The EU Commission was entrusted by member states to organise the joint procurement of vaccines during the pandemic and has led negotiations with manufacturers.
The court said the EU was able to quickly raise 2.7 billion euros ($2.95 billion) and order more than 1 billion vaccine doses by procuring vaccines on behalf of all 27 countries.
Some members of the European Parliament asked for full details of the contracts in 2021, but the European Commission only agreed to allow partial access to some contracts and documents, which were posted online in redacted versions. The Commission also did not disclose how much it paid for the billions of vaccine doses it secured, claiming that the contracts were protected for confidentiality reasons.
“With the row over the delayed delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the EU Commission is currently providing Brexit with its best publicity: it is acting slowly, bureaucratically and protectionistly.” https://t.co/sMJGn0Ni6M
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 27, 2021
“The Commission did not sufficiently consider all the relevant circumstances to properly assess the interests at issue,” the court said in a statement.
Two years ago, in a separate case, the EU ombudsman said the European Commission was liable for “misadministration” for improperly handling a request for access to text messages between the EU president and the CEO of pharmaceutical company Pfizer regarding the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.
After a New York Times article revealed text messages and phone calls between von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla about vaccine procurement for EU countries, ombudsman Emily O’Reilly recommended the European Commission “more thoroughly investigate relevant messaging” about such purchases.
A journalist subsequently asked the committee for access to the text messages and other documents, but the administration did not provide any texts, saying it did not keep records of such messages. Committee officials argued that the text messages were ephemeral and did not contain information important enough to justify inclusion in their document management system.
Farage: EU’s ‘vile and vindictive’ vaccine threats show UK was right to vote to leave https://t.co/MbxRxsJ0v8
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 27, 2021
