A Belgian court has handed Pfizer a €1.3bn victory against Poland, spotlighting tensions in EU’s COVID contract enforcement. The landmark judgment follows Warsaw’s refusal to accept additional deliveries from 2022, citing force majeure due to the Ukraine war and falling COVID infections. The Belgian court rejected these arguments and confirmed the contract’s enforceability.
“Issues related to key legal arguments and allegations in a potential appeal currently remain in the area of litigation strategy and are still subject to detailed analysis,” the Polish health ministry told Euractiv.
While the judgment is provisionally enforceable, the ministry confirmed that it will apply to the court of appeal to stay its execution to prevent a massive immediate drain on public finances.
Solidarity and contractual obligations
Pfizer told Euractiv that the 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”.
The vaccine developer emphasised that the ruling confirms the 2021 agreement is legally enforceable, and it now expects the Polish government to follow the court’s ruling and meet its agreed-upon payment obligations.
The company clarified that the judgment does not require the member state to receive “unwanted” doses. Instead, the ruling ensures that the government meets its financial commitments, allowing it to take delivery of allocated doses over the next three years according to an agreed schedule.
Pfizer maintains it has consistently supported efforts to minimise wastage by offering flexibility on delivery timelines and production in Europe.
Domestic reactions
The Polish health ministry said it remains focused on shielding the national budget from what it considers an unjust burden. The ministry told Euractiv that the potential financial liability “does not limit the possibility of financing the public health care system tasks planned for 2026,” as the responsibility rests with the state budget as a whole, rather than the specific healthcare fund.
Decisions regarding the physical receipt of vaccines will only be made after the appellate court considers the request to stay the judgment.
The domestic political context in Poland has added further fuel to the fire. Health Minister Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda stated that the €1.3 billion cost is equivalent to the annual pharmaceutical bill for all oncology patients in Poland, or the total cost of training medical residents. She argued that it is “shocking” to face the prospect of paying for 64 million doses that will never serve Polish patients and are destined for disposal.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk has been vocal in his criticism of the previous administration’s handling of the contract. Tusk remarked that the previous government ordered millions of vaccines it did not pick up or pay for, describing the situation as “extreme stupidity” for which the country must now pay.
This sentiment is supported by data from the Supreme Audit Office (NIK), which revealed that Poland already had 109 million doses contracted when it joined the controversial third agreement in May 2021.
The NIK report negatively evaluated the deal, noting that the health ministry at the time failed to properly estimate demand, leading to the disposal of over 13 million doses, worth approximately 900 million PLN (€211 million). Auditors concluded that the decision to join the third contract was “uneconomical” given the declining public interest in vaccinations. This internal criticism has become a cornerstone of the current government’s narrative, framing the contract as fundamentally flawed and irrational.
Poland has 60 days to file its formal appeal against the Brussels court’s decision. As both sides prepare for the next stage of the legal battle, the outcome will likely define the limits of member state autonomy within the EU’s collective procurement frameworks and the future of public accountability in crisis management.
[VA, BM]
Source:
www.euractiv.com