A group of EU lawmakers had taken legal action after the Commission refused to grant them complete access to COVID-19 vaccine contracts secured between the EU’s executive arm and manufacturers.
The pandemic shed light on the issue of transparency surrounding the negotiations for vaccines between the EU and big pharmaceutical groups. The EU Commission was mandated by member countries to organize the joint procurement of vaccines during the pandemic and led negotiations with manufacturers.
According to the court, the procurement of vaccines on behalf of all 27 member states allowed the bloc to quickly gather 2.7 billion euros ($2.95 billion) to place an order for more than a billion doses of vaccines.
In 2021, some members of the European Parliament asked for the full details of the agreements, but the Commission only agreed to provide partial access to certain contracts and documents, which were placed online in redacted versions. It also refused to say how much it paid for the billions of doses it secured, arguing that contracts were protected for confidentiality reasons.
In a statement, the court said that “the Commission did not take sufficient account of all the relevant circumstances in order to weigh up correctly the interests at issue.” AMS
European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton (R) who quit Monday with EC President Ursula von der Leyen, a relationship said to have
The death toll from torrential rain and flooding in central and eastern Europe has risen to at least 16, with several more people missing, as authorities report
European Commissioner for the Internal Market and regular mouthpiece on digital and telecoms matters Thierry Breton (pictured) quit with immediate effect, firi
VIENNA Storm Boris leaves a trail of destruction as it batters central and eastern Europe with the death toll climbing to nine and