Transparency of contracts for COVID-19 vaccines
4.12.2020
Priority question for written answer P-006641/2020
to the Commission
Rule 138
Rasmus Andresen (Verts/ALE), David Cormand (Verts/ALE), Daniel Freund (Verts/ALE), Damian Boeselager (Verts/ALE), Tatjana Ždanoka (Verts/ALE), Marc Botenga (GUE/NGL), Tanja Fajon (S&D), Sara Cerdas (S&D), Kim Van Sparrentak (Verts/ALE), Anna Cavazzini (Verts/ALE), Mounir Satouri (Verts/ALE), Eric Andrieu (S&D), Patrick Breyer (Verts/ALE), Sylvie Guillaume (S&D), Damien Carême (Verts/ALE), Carmen Avram (S&D), Karima Delli (Verts/ALE), Petar Vitanov (S&D), Yannick Jadot (Verts/ALE), Saskia Bricmont (Verts/ALE), Robert Hajšel (S&D), Dimitrios Papadimoulis (GUE/NGL), Alfred Sant (S&D), Eugen Jurzyca (ECR), Petros Kokkalis (GUE/NGL), Sven Giegold (Verts/ALE), Ciarán Cuffe (Verts/ALE), Miroslav Číž (S&D), Monika Vana (Verts/ALE), Günther Sidl (S&D), Giorgos Georgiou (GUE/NGL), Andreas Schieder (S&D), Monika Beňová (S&D), Hannes Heide (S&D), Henrike Hahn (Verts/ALE), Sarah Wiener (Verts/ALE), Caroline Roose (Verts/ALE), Elisabetta Gualmini (S&D), Salima Yenbou (Verts/ALE), Alessandra Moretti (S&D), Frédérique Ries (Renew), Viola Von Cramon-Taubadel (Verts/ALE), Bronis Ropė (Verts/ALE), Martin Häusling (Verts/ALE), Ville Niinistö (Verts/ALE), Thomas Waitz (Verts/ALE), Martin Hojsík (Renew), Marie Toussaint (Verts/ALE), Konstantinos Arvanitis (GUE/NGL), Manuel Bompard (GUE/NGL), José Gusmão (GUE/NGL), Alexis Georgoulis (GUE/NGL), Eugenia Rodríguez Palop (GUE/NGL), Leila Chaibi (GUE/NGL), Manon Aubry (GUE/NGL), Kateřina Konečná (GUE/NGL), Jutta Paulus (Verts/ALE), Michèle Rivasi (Verts/ALE), Biljana Borzan (S&D), Claude Gruffat (Verts/ALE), Aurore Lalucq (S&D), Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Verts/ALE), François Alfonsi (Verts/ALE)
During the COVID pandemic the Commission has concluded contracts with pharmaceutical companies, including CureVac, AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV and BioNtech-Pfizer, and is conducting exploratory talks with Moderna.
In order to support research on these vaccines, the European Parliament has approved up-front payments to these companies[1].
Given that vaccines are also being developed with taxpayers’ money from the EU and EU Member States, it is important that the public interest is fully preserved, and that scientific rigour, safety and transparency are respected.
However, the Commission has not yet responded to several letters sent by MEPs calling for transparency on these contracts.
Thus, in its resolution on the 2021 Budget[2] (adopted by a large majority) Parliament called on the Commission to grant the budgetary authority access to the COVID-19 vaccine-related contracts before the end of the year 2020.
- 1.When will the Commission respond to Parliament’s demand for transparency on vaccine-related documents, including contracts? Can the Commission ensure that they are accessible to all MEPs wishing to see them?
- 2.Who is the Commission representative in the joint negotiating team responsible for the negotiation COVID-19 vaccines contracts?