Poland appeals Belgian court ruling over disputed Covid-19 vaccine debt

Poland has appealed a Belgian court ruling ordering it to pay for millions of Covid-19 vaccine doses it declined to accept under a controversial EU vaccine purchase deal.

The case stems from multibillion-euro contracts for Covid shots negotiated by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with manufacturers Pfizer and BioNTech during the pandemic. The agreements later became the focus of the so-called ‘Pfizergate’ scandal.

In a statement released on Monday, the Polish Health Ministry said the government had appealed the judgment and requested that its enforcement be suspended pending the court’s review. It argued that the lower court had failed to consider all the “relevant factual and legal circumstances” but did not disclose further details.

Pfizer sued Poland in 2023 after Warsaw stopped accepting deliveries, arguing that falling demand, an oversupply of vaccines and the economic impact of the Ukraine conflict amounted to force majeure. In April, the Brussels court ruled that Warsaw must accept roughly 64 million doses and pay about €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion), in addition to interest and legal costs.

Pfizer defended the ruling, telling Politico it reflected “the importance of the contractual obligations that underpinned a successful European pandemic response” and that the company had shown “significant flexibility” toward member states before pursuing legal enforcement.

Von der Leyen has faced scrutiny over her role in the vaccine deals, with opponents accusing her of concealing details of negotiations with Pfizer and AstraZeneca. She has come under particular criticism for refusing to disclose or preserve text messages she reportedly exchanged with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during the talks. The controversy prompted a no-confidence motion in the European Parliament last year, which she survived.