BRUSSELS, April 1 (Reuters) – A Belgian court on Wednesday ordered Poland and Romania to take supply of 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion) price of COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and BioNTech in a case introduced by the U.S. drugmaker three years in the past.
Pfizer sued Poland and Romania in late 2023 in a Belgian court to pressure the 2 international locations to adjust to a contract signed between the European Commission and Pfizer for the supply of a set quantity of vaccine doses over a number of years, the court stated.
Poland refused in April 2022 to adjust to the contract, citing the evolution of the pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine and a potential abuse of dominant place by Pfizer. Romania later took the identical step.
The Brussels court rejected these arguments and ordered Poland and Romania to take supply of the vaccine doses and pay Pfizer.
Poland was ordered to take supply of Pfizer vaccine doses price 1.3 billion euros, whereas Romania was ordered to take 600 million euros’ price.
“Poland intends to pursue all legal remedies available to it to amend this ruling and defend its interests,” its Health Ministry stated in a assertion. The ruling requires an in depth evaluation concerning its implementation, and the monetary and sensible features, it added.
Pfizer stated it anticipated each international locations to pay.
“This decision reflects the importance of the contractual obligations that underpinned a successful European pandemic response, which was built on the principle of solidarity between Member States,” it stated in an announcement.
During essentially the most acute section of the pandemic, the European Commission and EU governments agreed to buy large volumes of vaccines, largely from Pfizer and its associate BioNTech, amid fears of inadequate provides.
As the pandemic abated, some EU international locations pushed for a discount IN the quantity of vaccines being ordered to minimize the expense.
Pfizer and Moderna, one other high provider of COVID vaccines to the EU, have agreed to postpone some deliveries, although that was not thought of sufficient by Poland and Romania.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk blamed his predecessor Mateusz Morawiecki for the setback.
The Romanian authorities stated it didn’t have an official announcement on the ruling and so couldn’t remark.
($1 = 0.8614 euros)
(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Bhanvi Satija; Additional reporting by Alan Charlish and Luiza Ilie. Editing by Mark Potter and Toby Chopra)
