The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled today that the European Commission did not give the public “wide enough access” to the Covid-19 vaccine contracts, finding irregularities in its justification for redacting parts of the documents.
The long-awaited decision comes just a day before a crucial vote for Ursula von der Leyen, who must secure the support of 361 MEPs on Thursday to be reconfirmed as head of the European Commission.
The issue about the contracts was raised as problematic by a group of Green MPs, who submitted requests to have access to the vaccine contracts and some related documents to understand the agreement between the Commission and the manufacturers of the Covid-19 vaccines in 2021, Politico writes. , reports Express.
The commission only agreed to grant partial access to some contracts, arguing that some sections had been redacted to protect commercial interests or for privacy concerns. The MEPs then took the Commission to court for the refusal.
On Wednesday, the EU’s top administrative court ruled that the Commission’s decision to redact parts of the agreements contains “irregularities”. He found that the Commission “did not show that wider access to those clauses would in fact undermine the commercial interests of these undertakings”.
