Belgian Court Orders Poland and Romania to Pay €1.9 Billion for Unneeded COVID Vaccines

A Belgian court has ruled that Poland and Romania must fulfill their obligations under an EU deal and purchase €1.9 billion ($2.2 billion) worth of unneeded Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech.

The case is linked to agreements made by the European Commission at the height of the pandemic, which have led to criticism of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

At the time, the commission advocated for collective purchasing of billions of vaccine doses to distribute among EU member states. Consequently, multibillion-euro deals were signed with vaccine manufacturers in 2020 and 2021.

Poland refused to comply with its contract in 2022, citing an improving COVID-19 situation and alleging potential abuse of a dominant market position by Pfizer. Romania followed suit shortly after. In 2023, the US pharmaceutical giant initiated a lawsuit against both nations.

The Brussels court rejected the arguments presented by Poland and Romania, ruling that a decrease in infection rates did not justify altering contractual obligations.

Under the ruling, Poland is required to purchase Pfizer vaccines valued at €1.3 billion, while Romania must acquire shots worth €600 million.

Warsaw has stated its intention to "pursue all legal remedies available to it to amend this ruling and defend its interests." Bucharest commented that the requested sum is "the equivalent of a ... regional hospital in Romania" and also vowed to appeal the decision.

The controversial EU vaccine deal contributed to the "Pfizergate" scandal, where the European Commission and Ursula von der Leyen personally faced accusations of concealing details from negotiations with Pfizer and AstraZeneca. Von der Leyen faced particular criticism for her refusal to disclose or preserve text messages allegedly exchanged with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, which even led to a no-confidence motion in the EU Parliament last year that she survived.