A European Union court on Wednesday ruled that the European Commission had failed to give the public sufficient access to the purchase agreements for COVID-19 vaccines.
EU lawmakers and citizens had asked the commission to publish the agreements under the bloc’s freedom of information laws, but the commission only released redacted versions, so they took legal action.
The court’s decision is a blow to commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whose conduct in procuring the vaccines has come under scrutiny, particularly due to the commission’s refusal to release messages she exchanged with Pfizer chief Albert Bourla.
Von der Leyen needs to win a majority vote in the European Parliament on Thursday to remain in office after her term expires later this year.
The EU General Court ruled in two separate cases that did not directly concern the messages with Bourla, that the commission had failed to demonstrate that the redaction of certain clauses in the agreements was justified.
For example, the commission redacted clauses concerning indemnity for pharmaceutical companies in the event that the vaccines are defective.
The court said that the provisions belong in the public domain because EU member states had endorsed the justification for them that is, to compensate companies for the risks of shortening development time.
It said the commission had failed to demonstrate that making these provisions public would harm pharmaceutical companies’ commercial interests.
Judges also said the commission had not sufficiently explained its decision to redact the contractual definitions of “wilful misconduct’’and “best reasonable efforts.”
Additionally, the commission redacted the provisions on the donation and resale of vaccines. But again, the court said the EU executive failed to show how releasing these would harm companies’ commercial interests.
The commission also redacted the personal information of its negotiating team on privacy grounds, but the judges ruled that the public interest outweighed the privacy concerns.
The names and job titles of the negotiators were necessary to determine whether they had conflicting interests, the court said.
The Court of Justice said that the commission has two months and 10 days to appeal the decision in the EU’s top court.
