EU Commission investigated over secrecy of COVID-19 contracts

BRUSSELS, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The European Ombudsman is
investigating the secrecy with which the European Union's
executive is handling COVID-19 vaccine supply contracts, it said
on Friday.

The EU has spent about 2.5 billion euros ($3 billion) on
downpayments to secure nearly 2.3 billion doses of COVID-19
candidates and approved vaccines from six companies. The
pricing, delivery terms and other key clauses are confidential.

"We have just opened an inquiry into the Commission's
refusal to give public access to documents concerning the
purchase of vaccines against COVID-19," a spokeswoman for the EU
Ombudsman said.

The bloc's Commission, which co-leads talks with vaccine
makers along with representatives from EU states, has said that
confidentiality is important to allow the EU to strike better
deals with companies. The Commission was not immediately
available for comment on the investigation.

Corporate Europe Observatory, a campaign group, had asked
for access to the contract signed with AstraZeneca, the
first sealed by the EU, and to documents linked to vaccine
negotiations. The Commission refused the first request and has
not decided about the second, the ombudsman said.

"Given the significant public interest in this matter, I
would ask the Commission to issue a confirmatory decision on
both access requests as soon as possible and at the latest by 11
February 2021," the Ombudsman wrote in a letter to the EU
executive on Friday.

Any EU citizen may appeal to the Ombudsman to investigate an
EU institution on the grounds of maladministration. Requests to
disclose documents can be rebuffed by EU institutions if the
publication of some information is considered against public
interest.

Earlier this month, the Commission disclosed a redacted
version of its COVID-19 vaccine contract with German biotech
firm CureVac, after pressure from EU lawmakers.
($1 = 0.8219 euros)
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; editing by
Philippa Fletcher)