The EU’s silence on the Pfizer COVID deal negotiations is a problem that won’t go away – #EUs #silence #Pfizer #COVID #deal #negotiations #problem #wont
LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) – Europe Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which led to the EU’s biggest ever COVID-19 vaccine deal medicine its silence about its relationship with its manufacturer Pfizer ( PFE.N ) damages public trust and is a problem that will not go away. , – said his ombudsman.
“We need to hear what’s going on or it’s going to drag on,” Emily O’Reilly said in an interview about the EU public prosecutor’s investigation into the bloc’s access to vaccines and Europe He said, pointing to plans by his parliament’s COVID committee to hold more hearings. on the issue. “So it just won’t go away.”
of 2021 April In an interview with the New York Times in 2011, von der Leyen revealed that he had exchanged texts with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla for a month while the deal was being negotiated, prompting the publication of the exchange.
The Commission said in June 2022 that it no longer contains the texts that later caused the criticism of the EU ombudsman.
O’Reilly argued that with tens of thousands of people on the continent dying from COVID-19, he would understand why von der Leyen would turn to Bourla to defend Europe’s case for vaccines.
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But secrecy fuels suspicions, he said.
“It’s a gift that keeps on giving to people who are anti-EU and anti-vax because it can feed the narrative that something is being covered up.”
O’Reilly said the Commission last year “stonewalled” a request by Brussels to publish text messages exchanged by von der Leyen and Bourla, months before Brussels signed a deal to buy Pfizer and BioNTech ( 22UAy.DE ) in May 2021. . 1.8 billion up to the dose.
A spokesman for the commission told Reuters it concluded last June and informed the ombudsman that the text messages were subject to transparency rules. information does not have the same quality as an EU document under freedom of inquiry.
“To provide greater certainty, the Commission is working on guidelines on modern means of communication such as texting and instant messaging,” a spokesperson told Reuters. The spokesman added that other EU institutions should do the same offer did.
Results of the EU-appointed ombudsman mandatory not. They can increase scrutiny by other EU institutions and citizens, which has happened in this case.
After O’Reilly’s statement Europe Members of parliament were furious that Burlan refused to appear at a special hearing in October and threatened to bar Pfizer employees and lobbyists from parliament.
In February, the New York Times said it was suing the Commission over the failure to release the text messages.
by Maggie Fick report; Edited by Nick Macfie
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
2023-03-02 01:29:50
Source – reuters
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