Ursula von der Leyen on vaccine contracts: "We signed them illegally to make it in time"

Ursula von der Leyen, in response to the Court's decision EU that it failed to make contracts for the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines widely available to the public, effectively admitting that it signed opaque contracts and justifying this by saying that it was done for the sake of speed.

In her statement, she stresses that… “in general” it ensures the broadest possible public access to documents in accordance with the principles of transparency, but in reality the main points remain unknown.

In cases before the CJEU, the Commission has argued that it “had to find a difficult balance” between the right of the public, including MEPs, to information and the legal requirements arising from the COVID-19 contracts themselveswhich could lead to claims for monetary damages against taxpayers (i.e., if the commission was a party to the signing, why did it accept such provisions? The money belongs to the taxpayers).

She notes that in many cases in the past the court has recognized the need to protect the business interests of the contracting party, and with this phrase many wonder whether he is trying to direct the court.

The Commission claims to have provided the European Parliament (in accordance with the framework agreement on the relationship between the two institutions) with full information on the COVID-19 vaccine contracts. In line with its institutional role, the Commission recalls that it is responsible for ensuring that there is no conflict of interest and is also obliged to protect the privacy and personal data of the persons concerned. At this stage, the commission reserves the right to choose.

The ECP considers that the Commission did not provide sufficient access to the sales contracts and believes that the executive body's decision to publish only redacted versions of the contracts contains violationsAccording to the court, the commission “has not demonstrated that broader access to the provisions in question would actually undermine the commercial interests of the undertakings concerned.”

Athens News previously reported that an initiative group of MEPs back in 2021 became interested the issue of transparency in the procurement of coronavirus vaccines worth several billion euros. MEPs saw signs of corruption and forwarded the request to prosecutor's office.

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