Sunday, 17 November 2024

European Court Rules Against Commission For Concealing COVID-19 Jab Contracts

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The European Court of Justice (ECJ), Europe’s second-highest court, ruled the European Commission did not provide sufficient access to COVID-19 jab contracts with manufacturers.

“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,”Euronews stated.

According to Reuters, the Commission signed deals with Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and others during the height of COVID madness.

Although some European Parliament lawmakers wanted access to the contracts, the Commission provided limited access and redacted some documents.

The ECJ ruled in favor of the lawmakers and criticized the Commission for publishing only redacted versions of the contracts.

“The EU General Court ruled against the Commission’s decision to redact large parts of the contracts before making them available … the Commission failed to prove how those clauses would undermine the commercial interests of the pharmaceutical companies,” the McCullough Foundation cited.

WATCH:

Euronews reports:

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.

“Nice and all, but as always there won’t be any consequences. The concept of accountability doesn’t exist anymore in modern politics. So instead of going straight to jail – where she belongs – @vonderleyen will continue her illegitimate reign as head of the European Commission,” Eva Vlaardingerbroek commented.

Per Reuters:

The lawmakers took their grievances to the Luxembourg-based General Court and judges on Wednesday upheld their challenge.
“The Commission did not give the public sufficiently wide access to the purchase agreements for COVID-19 vaccines,” they said.
“The Commission did not demonstrate that wider access to those clauses would actually undermine the commercial interests of those undertakings,” the court added. It also rejected the EU executive’s privacy arguments.
The Commission said the court had “only partially upheld the legal action on two points” and that it had recognised the EU executive had the right to protect some clauses in the contracts.
“In general, the Commission grants the widest possible public access to documents, in line with the principles of openness and transparency,” it said in a statement.
“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.”
It said it would study the court’s judgments and their implications and reserve its legal options. It can appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union, Europe’s highest.

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