BRUSSELS, Belgium: The European Commission failed to provide sufficient public access to information about COVID-19 vaccine purchase agreements during the pandemic, according to a ruling by the EU general court on Wednesday.
This decision coincides with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s bid for reelection at the European Parliament.
A group of EU lawmakers initiated legal action after the Commission denied them full access to the COVID-19 vaccine contracts between the EU and pharmaceutical companies. The pandemic highlighted the transparency issues in the negotiations for vaccines organized by the EU Commission on behalf of its member states. The court noted that the joint procurement allowed the EU to quickly secure 2.7 billion euros ($2.95 billion) for over a billion vaccine doses.
In 2021, some European Parliament members requested full details of the vaccine agreements. However, the Commission only provided partially redacted versions of certain contracts and documents online. It also withheld information on the costs, citing confidentiality. The court stated that the Commission did not properly balance the interests involved.
Previously, the EU ombudsman accused the Commission of “maladministration” for mishandling a request for access to text messages between von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla about vaccine purchases. The New York Times had reported on these exchanges, leading to a journalist requesting access to the messages. The Commission claimed no records were kept, arguing that text messages are ephemeral and not important enough to be included in a document management system.
