30/04/2024 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 29 April, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, justified the steps taken by the European Union institution in connection with the joint purchase of vaccines against Covid-19 at a time when she is being criticised for her lack of transparency in her dealings with the CEO of the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (see EUROPE 13161/30). “We’ve achieved to vaccinate 80% of the Europeans at least with one shot. (of vaccine). How were contracts made? They were approved by the Member States. Each individual Member State had a contract with a pharmaceutical company. They were signed by the Member states and not by European Commission. The money that flew was Member States’ money, not EU money”, she declared during a debate in Maastricht between the candidates heading the European party lists for the European elections in June. (MB)