Romania loses the case with Pfizer in the first instance. How much they have to pay for covid vaccines ordered and then cancelled
A court in Brussels condemned on Wednesday, in the first instance, Poland and Romania to pay an outstanding balance for the anti-Covid vaccines ordered from Pfizer/BioNTech, worth 1.3 billion euros and 600 million euros, respectively, according to a press release from the court, AFP informs.
The American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer sued Poland and Romania in the fall of 2023, to enforce the execution of these purchase contracts that the two countries refused to fulfill in full, due to the end of the pandemic.
In this civil dispute, the court of first instance in Brussels estimated that the two countries were unable to demonstrate that “Pfizer would abuse its right by pursuing the execution of contractual obligations”.
The European Commission, which is based in Brussels, negotiated and concluded these purchases of anti-Covid vaccines on behalf of the EU member states, and therefore the competence to resolve disputes related to these contracts fell to Belgian justice. One of the largest contracts was signed with Pfizer in May 2021.
In April 2022, the Polish government at the time refused to receive and pay for vaccine doses that it considered unnecessary, amounting to 1.3 billion euros, given the evolution of the pandemic and the stocks already built up.
In a statement, Pfizer welcomed the decision issued by the Belgian court on Wednesday. According to the pharmaceutical company, the decision reflects “the importance of the contractual obligations that have allowed Europe to respond successfully to this pandemic”.
The American group “now expects member states to comply with the court's decision,” the statement added.
The case of Pfizer vs. Romania
Pfizer sued the Romanian state, in Brussels, in January 2024, for allegedly violating the contract for the purchase of anti-Covid vaccines concluded during the pandemic.
“Following a prolonged breach of contractual commitments and a period of discussions conducted in good faith between the parties, Pfizer and BioNTech have taken the difficult decision to initiate official proceedings against Romania”, announced a Pfizer representative.
The Minister of Health at that time, Alexandru Rafila, stated that the situation was not unexpected, considering that the same thing happened in the case of two other EU states, Poland and Hungary.
Rafila then explained that enormous quantities of anti-Covid vaccine were contracted, which Romania would no longer need, as it is about 28 million doses of vaccine from Pfizer negotiated by contract and which our country no longer ordered and, implicitly, no longer received.
“There is no legal basis for these financial compensations and, obviously, we could not order the remaining 28 million doses of vaccine that were left to be delivered under this contract, given that in Romania the interest in vaccination practically does not exist at this moment,” said Minister Alexandru Rafila.
