The Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union shared draft conclusions with delegations of the Member States on 21 October regarding the European Court of Auditors’ (ECA) report on European purchases of vaccines (see EUROPE 13019/1).
In the draft conclusions, which will be discussed in the “Public Health” Working Party on 28 October, the Czech Presidency proposes to clarify the EU Council’s objective for the European Vaccine Strategy: ensuring the quality, safety and efficacy of vaccines and their equitable and timely access at European and global level.
More controversially, according to the ECA report, the Presidency of the EU Council proposes to include in the draft conclusions the fact that the President of the European Commission conducted preliminary negotiations in March 2021 with the Pfizer-BioNTech pharmaceutical companies. However, according to the draft, this is the only vaccine procurement contract in which the joint negotiation team would not have been involved, while, according to the Presidency document, it is the largest contract in the European portfolio until the end of 2023. In these draft conclusions, the Presidency proposes mentioning that the EU Council regrets what it considers to be a primary dependence on one supplier.
The Czech Presidency proposes specifically welcoming certain results, such as the early development of the vaccine strategy, the development of a diversified vaccine portfolio, the gradual improvement of contractual terms to secure supplies, and the desire of the European Commission and several Member States to have a more standardised legal liability regime in place.
However, the Presidency notes the findings of the ECA that highlight the Commission’s failure to assess the performance of its public procurement system and the late analysis of its production systems and supply chains.
The Czech Presidency proposes welcoming the European Commission’s response to the findings of the report as well as the initiatives launched to implement them, such as the framework regulation for medical countermeasures in the event of a health emergency (adopted on 24 October - see EUROPE 13049/19).
The Czech Presidency of the EU Council also proposes supporting the two ECA recommendations by inviting the European Commission to develop guidance for pandemic-related public procurement and to carry out testing and risk assessments of the procurement framework in order to propose appropriate measures.
Finally, the Presidency would like to include a call for greater flexibility in future contracts, particularly with regard to the delivery schedule, as well as facilitating a policy of vaccine donations and direct deliveries to third countries.
Link to the draft conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/3s6 (Original version in French by Emilie Vanderhulst)