EU court criticizes the lack of clear information in COVID-19 vaccine contracts.

The EU court ruled that the European Commission did not provide enough public access to information about COVID-19 vaccine purchase agreements. This decision came one day before the EU Parliament was set to vote on whether to reelect European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

A group of EU lawmakers sued the commission after it refused to give them full access to COVID-19 vaccine contracts. The commission argued that while it generally supports transparency, it needed to protect the confidentiality of the contracts and avoid potential lawsuits.

The court stated that the commission did not adequately explain why sharing certain information, such as details about financial protections for pharmaceutical companies, would harm their business interests. The court also said the commission should have disclosed the names and roles of individuals involved in the negotiations.

This case highlighted the issue of transparency surrounding vaccine deals between the EU and large pharmaceutical companies. The EU's ombudsman previously criticized the commission for mishandling a request for text messages between von der Leyen and the CEO of Pfizer about vaccine purchases.

The ombudsman called for a more thorough search for the messages after a news report revealed their existence. The commission argued that text messages are temporary and do not contain important information requiring formal documentation.