A top EU court has ruled against Ursula von der Leyen, citing a lack of transparency in Covid-19 vaccine contracts, posing a major challenge to her re-election bid.
The General Court of the European Union criticized the Commission’s decision to redact significant portions of the vaccine contracts before public release.
This ruling comes just over a day before von der Leyen’s political future is decided by the European Parliament, where she needs 361 out of 720 votes in a closely contested secret ballot. “She needs to make concessions on this for our vote,” an anonymous delegate from Renew Europe told POLITICO.
Von der Leyen has been seeking support from various groups, including the Greens, who initiated the vaccine contract court case.
The Greens sought access to the vaccine contracts and related documents to scrutinize the Commission’s agreements with vaccine manufacturers in 2021. The Commission provided only partial access, redacting sections to protect commercial interests and privacy. The Green MEPs then sued.
On Wednesday, the General Court partially upheld the lawsuit, annulling the Commission’s redactions. It found the Commission’s justification for redacting indemnification clauses insufficient and emphasized public interest in identifying officials involved in the vaccine negotiations.
Tilly Metz, one of the Green MEPs behind the lawsuit, hailed the ruling as significant for future joint procurements by the Commission. She urged the new Commission to align its document access practices with the court’s decision.
Peter Liese, an MEP from the European People’s Party, downplayed the ruling, defending the Commission’s actions as necessary to secure quick vaccine access.
The Commission stated it would analyze the judgment and its implications, while noting that the court upheld some redactions for commercial interests. The Commission may appeal within two months and 10 days.
Other cases related to Pfizer contracts and communications between von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla are still pending in various EU courts.