Von der Leyen’s Commission has lost a controversial vaccines contracts transparency case on the eve of a crucial vote in the European Parliament to confirm her nomination as Commission President.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has today (17 July) annulled a European Commission decision to conceal certain parts of COVID vaccine contracts amid Von der Leyen’s efforts to gain support for re-election.
Back in October 2021, Green MEPs asked for access to the COVID-19 vaccine contracts negotiated by the Commission in order to know the terms and conditions of the agreements.
According to the group, the decision to take the case to the High Court came after months of correspondence with the European Commission asking for transparent access to the contracts, to which the executive only provided heavily redacted versions.
The ECJ has ruled today that the Commission did not give sufficient access to the purchase agreements and considers that the executive’s decision to publish only redacted versions of the contracts contains irregularities.
The ruling comes just one day before the European Parliament votes on Von der Leyen’s reappointment as Commission President.
Praised at first for negotiating the COVID vaccine contracts making them available in Europe, the spotlight was quickly overshadowed by the lack of transparency.
According to the Court, the Commission “did not demonstrate that wider access to those clauses would actually undermine the commercial interests of those undertakings”.
So far, the issue hasn’t affected von der Leyen’s candidacy as she quickly became the consensus nomination among the main political forces in the last mandate – EPP, S&D and Renew Europe.
This ruling, however, presents a dilemma for the Greens – who challenged the Commission’s redactions before the European Court of Justice. The Greens have been courted by von der Leyen in recent days as she seeks to shore up support for her nomination ahead of tomorrow’s vote.
“It is important that the court has confirmed the importance of proper justifications for protecting commercial interests. This ruling is significant for the future, as the EU Commission is expected to undertake more joint procurements in areas like health and potentially defence,” said Green MEP Tilly Metz, one of the deputies who submitted the original request, in a press release after the ruling, adding: “The new European Commission must now adapt their handling of access to documents requests to be in line with today’s ruling.”
“The Commission needed to strike a difficult balance between the right of the public, including MEPs, to information, and the legal requirements emanating from the COVID-19 contracts themselves, which could result in claims for damages at the cost of taxpayers’ money,” the EU executive said in a press release following the ruling.
The statement said the Commission considers it has provided the European Parliament with sufficient information on the COVID-19 vaccine contracts, in accordance with a Framework Agreement between the two institutions.
The Commission “reserves its legal options” and will study the implications of the ruling. It now has two months to appeal the case.
This is not the only case confronting Von der Leyen over the COVID-19 vaccine purchases.
A ruling from the European Court of Justice in a case brought by the New York Times – asking Von der Leyen to disclose text messages she exchanged with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during vaccine deal negotiations – was expected earlier this year.
However, an ECJ source confirmed to Euronews that the case is still in progress and no ruling has been scheduled yet with no indication of when it might be expected.
The Commission claims that the ephemeral nature of text messages means that they don’t normally qualify as fileable documents, as they don’t normally contain the policies, activities and decisions of the institution.
Last June the Commission launched a process of developing a common approach to the use of modern communication tools with other EU institutions. A spokesperson confirmed today that the process is ongoing and that the EU executive has received feedback from some other bodies which it is considering.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) also announced the opening of an investigation into the purchase of vaccines in the EU during the pandemic. In this case, the question is whether the EPPO has the competence to assess whether the European Commission committed any wrongdoing in negotiating COVID-19 vaccines with Pfizer.
Following a criminal complaint filed by an individual, the Belgian authorities initiated the case in early 2023. Subsequently, the governments of Hungary and Poland joined the lawsuit.
The Belgian tribunal of Liège has delayed the decision until December.
This story is developing, and will be updated during the day.
