Vaccines: New York Times sues EU Commission
The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against the EU Commission before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The newspaper wants the text messages between Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Albert Bourla, the CEO of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, to be disclosed so that the public can learn whether there was collusion over the purchase of Covid vaccines, and if so, what deals were made.
A direct and wasteful deal
The left-wing weekly Dromos tis Aristeras criticises the role played by Ursula von der Leyen:
“The direct award of the deal involved at least 900 million doses. Worth tens of billions of euros, these doses were put into storage, then they expired, and now they are to be destroyed. Moreover, Pfizer is still forcing millions of vaccine doses on the EU which nobody knows what to do with. ... Or rather, what will happen with them is clear: as soon as they expire, they too will be destroyed. How these contracts came about was an open secret in the corridors of the EU, and there was much talk about the questionable role played by the Commission boss in Albert Bourla's deal.”
Clearly two-faced
The pro-government Magyar Nemzet sees double standards as far as transparency is concerned:
“The EU Parliament had the opportunity to question the Commission president in a public hearing. In the end she was questioned, but not properly questioned: the EPP, Socialists and Liberals opted for a hearing behind closed doors so that European citizens would not learn about any embarrassing details. ... The EU Parliament proudly proclaims its transparency and integrity. And it has reason to be proud, because its actions are totally transparent: it protects itself while attacking anyone with whom it disagrees politically without restraint. In this way Hungary and Poland have been pilloried for years.”