Request for publication of advanced purchase agreements (APA) concluded by the Commission with companies manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines
28.1.2021
Priority question for written answer P-000537/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Simona Baldassarre (ID), Silvia Sardone (ID), Matteo Adinolfi (ID), Vincenzo Sofo (ID), Paolo Borchia (ID), Mara Bizzotto (ID)
Given the latest developments, it is clear that the Commission’s planned vaccine campaign is proceeding more slowly than scheduled.
Statements by AstraZeneca’s Executive Director have revealed that the agreements signed by the Commission for the manufacture and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines within the EU do not contain binding contractual obligations but mere promises. The figures the Commission has reported, and on which Member States have based their vaccine campaign efforts, are merely random and not clearly defined.
Furthermore, a reading of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Chapter 1.23 of the agreement with CureVac, the only one the Commission has published, show that liability for third party damages is managed through clauses that place the institutions and the Member States at a disadvantage, leaving the pharmaceutical firms untouched.
In the light of the above:
- 1.Does the Commission plan to make up for its lack of transparency by publishing all the contracts in an unabridged version?
- 2.Will it explain why it accepted clauses that are so weighted against the Member States, which have already suffered so much because of the pandemic?
- 3.Will the investigation the European Ombudsman has opened into the contracts affect delivery schedules?
Supporters[1]
- [1] This question is supported by Members other than the authors: Rosanna Conte (ID), Annalisa Tardino (ID)