Answer given by President von der Leyen on behalf of the European Commission

20.10.2021

The Commission refers the Honourable Members to its replies to the parliamentary questions E-001844/2021 and P-002959/2021.

As the lending by the bank in question took place before 2013, the Commission does not see any link with the procurement of vaccines.

As regards the conclusion of advance purchase agreements for vaccines, the Commission has followed the procurement rules set out in the Financial Regulation and it has put in place thorough procedures in close cooperation with the Member States that comply with the relevant standards of ethics and integrity during the whole of the procurement process. The Commission has made a detailed description of the procedure publicly available[1].

• [1] E.g.: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/QANDA_21_48 and
  https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/coronavirus-response/public-health/eu-vaccines-strategy_en