Pfizer wins €1.9 billion from Romania, Poland over surplus COVID vaccines

A court in Brussels has ordered Romania and Poland to pay Pfizer a total of €1.9 billion for surplus COVID-19 vaccines they were obliged to purchase under contracts negotiated through the European Commission.

“The claim has been fully upheld. The defence parties were unable to prove that the plaintiff (Pfizer) abused a dominant market position,” stated the ruling of the Brussels Court of First Instance. The decision is open to appeal.

The judgment grants Pfizer full reimbursement of its contractual obligations, with Poland required to pay €1.3 billion and Romania €600 million.

Both countries had stopped purchasing additional doses in 2022, citing surplus stock, the diminished effectiveness of the vaccines against emerging coronavirus variants, and budgetary constraints linked to the conflict in Ukraine.

By Vafa Guliyeva