Topic: Pfizer Contract

Ursula von der Leyen has secured a second term as President of the European Commission despite significant opposition from leaders like Italy's Giorgia Meloni. Critics have raised concerns over a lack of transparency regarding von der Leyen's handling of multi-billion dollar COVID-19 vaccine contracts with Pfizer. Her re-election comes amid deep divisions within the EU over continued military support for Ukraine and the bloc's future direction.

Pfizer reportedly demanded extreme legal protections and collateral from the government of Argentina during COVID-19 vaccine negotiations in 2020. The pharmaceutical company requested that Argentina provide bank reserves, military bases, and embassy buildings as collateral against potential future civil lawsuits. Argentina's parliament initially passed a law to accommodate the company but balked at the demand for sovereign assets.

MEP Cristian Terhes and others challenged Pfizer's refusal to disclose contract pricing and the contents of text messages between Ursula von der Leyen and Albert Bourla, a scandal dubbed "SMS-gate." Terhes questioned how Pfizer was able to begin testing vaccines on mice just three days after the genetic sequence of the virus was released by China. The committee chair faced motions to declare the committee "incompetent" due to its inability to compel testimony or transparency.

A Romanian Member of the European Parliament (MEP) confronts representatives from Pfizer and Moderna regarding heavily redacted vaccine procurement contracts. The MEP questions the lack of human trials for bivalent boosters and the shifting of liability from manufacturers to European member states while companies retain all profits.

Members of the European Parliament held a press briefing to protest the lack of transparency regarding vaccine procurement contracts, displaying heavily redacted documents where nearly all terms were blacked out. German MEP Christine Anderson delivered a viral speech criticizing government extortion and manipulation, asserting her right as a free citizen to refuse experimental drugs. The MEPs expressed concern that elected officials and staff are being stripped of fundamental rights through the implementation of the "Corona pass" in the European Union.