[1]
Press release
EU OMBUDSMAN STARTS INQUIRY ON OPAQUE HANDLING BY COMMISSION OF COVID19
VACCINE-CONTRACTS
_Brussels, 22 January 2020_
THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN HAS TODAY STARTED INVESTIGATING THE EUROPEAN
COMMISSION'S SECRECY AROUND ITS COVID-19 VACCINE CONTRACTS WITH
PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES AND THE NEGOTIATIONS THAT SHAPED THESE CONTRACTS
[1]. THIS INQUIRY WAS SPARKED BY COMPLAINTS FILED BY CORPORATE EUROPE
OBSERVATORY (CEO) EARLIER THIS MONTH AGAINST THE COMMISSION’S HANDLING OF
TWO SEPTEMBER 2020 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (FOI) REQUESTS. THE OMBUDSMAN HAS
ALREADY CONTACTED THE COMMISSION AND ASKED FOR A RESPONSE BEFORE 11
FEBRUARY.
The Ombudsman’s inquiry covers two CEO complaints [2]:
1. A complaint against the Commission denying access to its Covid-19
vaccine contract with AstraZeneca, the first contract which the Commission
signed last year. The Commission rejected our FOI request for disclosure of
the contract, with reference to protecting the commercial interests of
AstraZeneca and claiming there was no overriding public interest in
transparency. Corporate Europe Observatory appealed this decision, but the
Commission has failed to respond within the deadlines defined in the EU FOI
legislation.
2. The Commission’s refusal to disclose documents related to the vaccine
negotiations, including notes of meetings and correspondence as well as the
names of the members of the Joint Negotiation Team, which consists of seven
experts designated by member states.
After months of growing pressure from MEPs [3] and civil society [4], the
Commission has recently taken some first steps to improve transparency, but
these have been shown to be haphazard and insufficient.
Earlier this month, the Commission invited MEPs to read a redacted version
of the CureVac contract under strict conditions in a reading room.
Surprisingly the Commission posted the redacted CureVac contract on its
website earlier this week [5]. The five other contracts remain
confidential, with neither MEPs nor the general public having any access to
the texts. The CureVac contract shows that confidentiality was written into
the contracts, giving the pharma companies a veto right (see article 11.6.1
onward). The contract also confirms fears that the lucrative advance
purchase agreement (APAs) deals being negotiated in the dark would use
public money to remove financial risk and liability from pharma companies
developing Covid-19 vaccines.
All of this is without corresponding public interest conditions related to
prices and availability, and despite the €2.8 billion public money
already spent by the Commission on the development and advance purchase
agreements for these vaccines.
The contract also shows that the EU has gone very far in ‘de-risking’
Curevac’s investments, but still failed to secure any rights in Curevac
inventions or know-how funded under the contract [6]. Moreover, the
contract indicates that EU governments, in specific scenarios, could end up
paying indemnity for possible side-effects of the vaccine, but key parts of
the text regarding this indemnity have been redacted.
Regarding the alarming message by World Health Organisation Director
General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday on the “catastrophic moral
failure” over vaccine distribution [7], it is shocking to learn that the
doses bought by the EU cannot be passed on to low- and middle income
countries without permission from CureVac.
The opaqueness of the vaccines negotiations risk xpanding the corporate
capture by Big Pharma of EU medicines policies. In September 2020 research
by Corporate Europe Observatory [8] revealed how pharma industry lobbying
was putting profit before an effective pandemic response. The research
showed how Big Pharma, despite lofty PR statements about their commitment
to tackling the coronavirus pandemic, is lobbying intensively to protect
its problematic, profit-maximising business-model, partly based on public
money with no strings attached and excessive monopoly patent rules.
OLIVIER HOEDEMAN, RESEARCHER AT CORPORATE EUROPE OBSERVATORY, SAID: “Four
months ago we submitted FOI requests to throw light on the EU's Covid-19
vaccine deal negotiations with Big Pharma, but instead of transparency, the
European Commission chose delay tactics and secrecy. Transparency is
crucial for informed public debate, democratic accountability, and public
trust. The Ombudsman’s investigation is great news and will hopefully
result in a much-needed breakthrough.”
VIVIANA GALLI, COORDINATOR AT EUROPEAN ALLIANCE FOR RESPONSIBLE R&D AND
AFFORDABLE MEDICINES, SAID: “The lack of transparency undermines trust in
the institutions and science, which is fundamental in current times.
Secrecy and the need to ask private companies for disclosure authorisation
are unjustified where considerable amounts of public funds have been
invested in research and development and used to conclude these deals.
Exchanges with companies and the contracts should be disclosed in their
entirety for public scrutiny and to ensure that the public interest has
been protected.”
YANNIS NATSIS, POLICY MANAGER FOR UNIVERSAL ACCESS & AFFORDABLE MEDICINES,
EUROPEAN PUBLIC HEALTH ALLIANCE (EPHA) SAID: "European governments and the
Commission must stop beating around the bush and publish all contracts and
exchanges with companies as soon as possible. The success story of the EU
Covid-19 vaccines procurement strategy is seriously undermined by the
secrecy imposed by pharma companies and condoned by the EU and its members.
The Ombudsman's inquiry proves that the demand for public accountability is
only getting louder and stronger."
ENDS
For more information or interview requests, please contact:
Olivier Hoedeman (English, Danish, Dutch) oliv...@corporateeurope.org, +32
4 74486545
Viviana Galli (Italian, English), vivi...@medicinesalliance.eu,
Yannis Natsis (English, French, Greek), yan...@epha.org,
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1: The Ombudsman’s letter announcing the inquiry is online here:
https://crm.corporateeurope.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=5064&qid=894412
The Ombudsman’s letter to the Commission is online here:
https://crm.corporateeurope.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=5065&qid=894412
2: Our access to documents request titled “COVID-19 Advance Purchase
Agreements (vaccine deal contracts)” is online here:
https://crm.corporateeurope.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=5066&qid=894412
Our access to documents request titled “The Vaccines Procurement Steering
Committee & the Joint Negotiation Team” is online here:
https://crm.corporateeurope.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=5067&qid=894412
3:
https://crm.corporateeurope.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=5068&qid=894412
4:
https://crm.corporateeurope.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=5069&qid=894412
5:
https://crm.corporateeurope.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=5070&qid=894412
6: See for instance the analysis by Knowledge Ecology International:
https://crm.corporateeurope.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=5071&qid=894412
7: WHO chief warns of ‘catastrophic moral failure’ over vaccine
distribution:
https://crm.corporateeurope.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=5072&qid=894412
8: Internal documents show Pharma lobby promoting commercial interests
during corona pandemic | Corporate Europe Observatory [2]
Corporate Europe Observatory,
https://crm.corporateeurope.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=5059&qid=894412 [3]
Rue d'Édimbourg 26
1050 Brussels
Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 893 0930, e-mail: c...@corporateeurope.org
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