Judgment of the EU Court - The European Commission held billion-dollar Corona vaccine deals in secrecy
The EU Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen has violated EU law by withholding information on billion-dollar Corona vaccine contracts. The Brussels authority did not provide sufficient access to documents, particularly in relation to potential conflict of interests and compensation rules for vaccine manufacturers, according to judges in Luxembourg. The ruling can be appealed at the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
During the pandemic, the EU Commission, acting on behalf of member states, negotiated and signed hundreds of millions of doses of vaccines with pharmaceutical companies in 2020 and 2021. The process was criticized because some of the contracts were not made public or there were delivery delays. The European Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating in this context.
In 2021, EU parliamentarians and private individuals requested access to these contracts. The EU Commission under the leadership of German CDU politician Ursula von der Leyen granted this only partially. Consequently, parliamentarians and private individuals brought a lawsuit and have now partially won. The ruling comes a day before the European Parliament vote on a second term for Ursula von der Leyen as Commission President.
EU Court criticizes Commission
The court reprimanded the EU Commission for not sufficiently justifying why extensive access to the clauses on compensation rules would harm the commercial interests of the companies. The EU Commission also denied access to the documents with a reference to the protection of privacy of persons. However, the plaintiffs had properly demonstrated the special public interest in the publication of the data: it could only be checked whether there was no conflict of interest if the names and professional roles of those involved in the contracts were disclosed.
- The ruling against the EU Commission, headed by Ursula von der Leyen, was issued in Luxembourg, highlighting the secrecy surrounding billion-dollar Coronavirus vaccine contracts within the European Union.
- Despite the European Commission's claims of protecting the privacy of individuals involved in the vaccine contracts, the EU Court of Justice (EuGH) argued that the special public interest in disclosure outweighed these concerns.
- Amidst ongoing investigations by the European Public Prosecutor's Office and a pending vote on Ursula von der Leyen's second term as Commission President, the EU Court's criticism adds pressure on the European Commission to uphold transparency and accountability in vaccine contract negotiations.
