The American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has sued the Polish government for non-payment of 60 million doses of the vaccine against COVID-19 that Warsaw ordered but never received, Radio Polonia reports, and POLITICO writes News.ro.

It is about the collection of 1.4 billion euros (6 billion Polish zlotys), and the first hearing in the court in Brussels is scheduled for December 6, the Ministry of Health in Warsaw reported on Thursday.

Pfizer, which jointly developed a vaccine against COVID-19 with the German company BioNTech, sued Poland after a year of negotiations that failed to reach an agreement, Polish news agency PAP reported.

Last April, the Polish government asked Pfizer to cancel production and shipments of its COVID-19 vaccines to Poland as the country faces a “greater need” to support war-torn Ukraine after a Russian invasion in 2022, the ministry said. Health Care. According to the government in Warsaw, Poland has also informed the European Commission and tried to reach a compromise with Pfizer.

Representatives of the EU took part in the discussions, the Minister of Health of Poland said.

“Representatives of Pfizer were unable to offer concrete solutions,” and the year-long talks ended without an agreement, the Polish government said.

Health Minister Katarzyna Sojka said in an interview with the press on Wednesday that she hopes for a “positive solution” to the dispute, PAP news agency reports.

The trial, which comes as Poland prepares for a change of government after elections in October, marks the culmination of a 19-month battle between Warsaw and Pfizer over large doses of the vaccine. But the roots of the conflict can be traced further back: in the huge contract for 1.1 billion doses that the European Commission signed with Pfizer in 2021. The contract became controversial after an exchange of text messages that allegedly took place between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Burla on the eve of the negotiations, writes Politico.eu.

“Pfizer and BioNTech are trying to get Poland to fulfill its obligations regarding the orders for a vaccine against COVID-19 placed by the Polish government under the supply contract to the European Union signed in May 2021,” a Pfizer representative told POLITICO, adding that BioNTech also joins the lawsuit.

The European Commission’s contract with Pfizer forced countries to buy doses they didn’t need

According to the Polish newspaper Gazeta Prawa, Pfizer filed a civil lawsuit in a court in Brussels because the doses were purchased under EU joint procurement contracts drawn up under Belgian law.

In 2021, the Commission signed a cardinal contract with Pfizer, which provided for the production of up to 1.8 billion doses of the vaccine against COVID-19. Of these, 1.1 billion doses were eventually ordered. This joint purchasing agreement, struck by the Commission on behalf of EU countries, overshadowed previous vaccine purchases by the bloc and prompted other vaccine makers to complain that they were being squeezed out of the market.

Since then, the size of the contract has been a stumbling block for the European Commission, and not just because of transparency issues related to Ursula von der Leyen’s refusal to discuss any personal role she may have played in the negotiations. In essence, the contract forced countries to buy doses they probably wouldn’t need, POLITICO noted.

In April 2022, then Polish Minister of Health Adam Niedielski announced that Poland would stop supplying the vaccine. According to him, Warsaw invoked the force majeure clause in the contract and said it was about financial pressure caused by the influx of refugees from the war in Ukraine and the economic disruptions that followed. He also explained that improving the pandemic situation means reducing the need for vaccines. At the time, the Polish government was led by Mateusz Morawiecki of the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, and Poland was largely isolated on many issues. (It is now likely that PiS and Moravetski will leave the government, giving way to centrist liberals, after last month’s elections. – no).

Nine countries of Central and Eastern Europe asked the European Commission to change the agreement

However, a group of nine other Central and Eastern European countries soon followed Poland’s example. Although they did not go so far as to cut off supplies, they complained that they were forced to spend money on doses they did not need during the economic crisis. These countries put pressure on the Commission to renew the contract and repeatedly raised this issue at meetings of EU health ministers.

The commission managed to get Pfizer to commit to moving some supplies, but it wasn’t enough to appease the capitals.

As vaccination rates stagnated, Central and Eastern European countries outside the group also began to join the call for a review. At one point, the capitals even began to demand more transparency about the initial negotiations between Pfizer and the Commission. “What was promised? We would very much like to know,” said Belgian ambassador Pierre Cartuyvels in December 2022.

Pfizer warning

In May of this year, the Commission quietly announced a substantial revision of the incriminated agreement. This will reduce — by an unspecified amount — the number of outstanding doses, and supplies will also be staggered through 2026.

However, Poland refused to sign the revised agreement.

The case appeared to be dead, with no word yet that Pfizer was ready to sue the government. The timing is notable, coming after Poland’s October elections in which PiS lost its ruling majority and the opposition won enough seats to bring center-right moderate Donald Tusk to power.

Thus, Pfizer is giving Tusk a hefty bill that could reach €1.4 billion, based on a price of €19.50 per dose, according to the Financial Times (exact details of the contract remain secret). In addition, this decision was made at a time when the normally vigorous Polish economy is in crisis.

But for Pfizer, it’s a clear signal to any country that might want to avoid paying what it owes.

It will be a mess for Donald Tusk, who wants to maintain good relations with Brussels and may feel more pressure to honor deals reached through the European Commission’s joint public procurement contract.

A Pfizer representative said the decision was made “after a prolonged breach of contract and a period of good faith negotiations between the parties.”