Von der Leyen Loses Vaccine Contract Transparency Case in EU’s Top Court

The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled today that the European Commission failed to provide the public with "sufficiently wide access" to Covid-19 vaccine contracts, identifying irregularities in its rationale for redacting portions of the documents.

This highly anticipated ruling comes just one day before a critical vote for Ursula von der Leyen. To be reconfirmed as the head of the executive body, she needs to secure the support of 361 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on Thursday.

The case was initiated by a group of Green MEPs who requested access to vaccine contracts and related documents to understand the terms of the agreements between the Commission and Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers in 2021.

The Commission initially provided only partial access to certain contracts, citing commercial interests and privacy concerns as reasons for redacting some sections. The MEPs subsequently took the Commission to court over its refusal to disclose the full contracts.

On Wednesday, the EU's top administrative court found that the Commission's decision to redact parts of the agreements contained "irregularities." The court ruled that the Commission "did not demonstrate that wider access to those clauses would actually undermine the commercial interests of those undertakings."