European Commission Faces Court Criticism Over COVID Vaccine Contract Transparency Ahead Of Vote on Ursula Von Der Leyen's Reappointment
European Commission Faces Court Criticism Over COVID Vaccine Contract Transparency Ahead Of Vote on Ursula Von Der Leyen's Reappointment
The European Commission faced criticism from Europe's second-highest court regarding transparency issues surrounding COVID-19 vaccine contracts from four years ago.
歐盟委員會因四年前的COVID-19疫苗合同透明度問題受到歐洲第二高等法院的批評。
This scrutiny comes on the eve of a crucial vote on Commission head Ursula von der Leyen's reelection bid.
這種審查在委員會主席馮德萊恩的連任競選關鍵投票前夕出現。
Some European lawmakers have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with how the Commission handled its multibillion-euro contracts, particularly its failure to disclose text messages between von der Leyen and Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) CEO Albert Bourla regarding one of the agreements.
一些歐洲議員對委員會處理其數十億歐元合同的方式，尤其是未能披露馮德萊嬪和輝瑞公司（紐交所：PFE）首席執行官阿爾伯特·伯拉之間的短信以及一項協議表示不滿。
In 2022, a Pfizer executive "categorically" ruled out that the pharma giant's chief executive agreed on the European COVID-19 contract via mobile phone text messages.
2022年，輝瑞一位高管“斷然否認”這家制藥巨頭的首席執行官通過手機短信同意歐洲COVID-19合同。
The Commission contends that these messages were not retained.
委員會稱這些短信未被保留。
During the height of the pandemic, the Commission secured agreements with several major companies for COVID vaccine supplies, including AstraZeneca Plc (NASDAQ:AZN), Sanofi SA (NASDAQ:SNY), GSK Plc (NYSE:GSK), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX), Pfizer, and Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA).
在疫情高峰期間，委員會與幾家大型公司達成了有關COVID疫苗供應的協議，其中包括阿斯利康股份有限公司（納斯達克：AZN）、賽諾菲安萬特（納斯達克：SNY）、葛蘭素史克（紐交所：GSK）、強生（紐交所：JNJ）、BioNTech SE（納斯達克：BNTX）、輝瑞和Moderna Inc（納斯達克：MRNA）。
Also Read: Emergent BioSolutions And Johnson & Johnson Resolve Claims Over COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturing.
同時閱讀：緊急生物解決方案與強生就COVID-19疫苗製造問題解決爭端。
In response to requests from some members of the European Parliament for full access to these documents, Reuters noted that the Commission provided only partial access, citing the need to protect commercial interests and the decision-making process through redactions.
對於要求歐洲議會某些議員完全訪問這些文件的請求，據路透社報道，委員會只提供了部分訪問，援引需要通過刪節來保護商業利益和決策過程的決定。
"The Commission did not give the public sufficiently wide access to the purchase agreements for COVID-19 vaccines," they said.
“委員會沒有向公衆提供足夠廣泛的COVID-19疫苗購買協議的訪問權，”他們說。
The General Court in Luxembourg upheld the lawmakers' challenge, although the Commission claimed partial success in defending certain contract clauses.
路易斯伯格的總法院支持了議員的挑戰，儘管委員會聲稱在保衛某些合同條款方面取得了部分成功。
"In general, the Commission grants the widest possible public access to documents, in line with the principles of openness and transparency," Reuters noted, citing the statement.
路透社援引該聲明稱：“總的來說，委員會根據公開和透明原則授予公衆最廣泛的文件訪問權。”
"In these cases, the Commission needed to strike a difficult balance between the right of the public, including MEPs (members of the European Parliament), 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."
他們說：“在這些情況下，委員會需要在公衆，包括歐洲議會議員（MEP）的信息權利和僅可能導致納稅人資金損失的COVID-19合同本身之間取得一個困難的平衡。”
Meanwhile, the European Parliament is scheduled to vote on Thursday regarding von der Leyen's candidacy for a second term amid ongoing scrutiny and legal challenges concerning transparency issues.
與此同時，歐洲議會計劃在週四進行投票，就馮德萊恩連任爭議和法律問題。
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
免責聲明：本內容部分使用人工智能工具生成，並經Benzinga編輯審核發佈。
- London High Court Ruling Fuels Pfizer And Moderna Legal Dispute Over COVID-19 Vaccine Patents.
- 倫敦高等法院的裁決加劇了輝瑞和Moderna公司之間的針對COVID-19疫苗專利的法律糾紛。
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
照片通過Wikimedia Commons
譯文內容由第三人軟體翻譯。