Ref. Ares(2021)1844427 - 15/03/2021
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR HEALTH AND FOOD SAFETY
SANTE.DG/DDG1/C.3/KB
By registered letter
with acknowledgment of receipt1
Mr Marco Bresolin
Avenue de la Chasse, 21
1040 – Etterbeek
Belgium
Advance copy by email:
ask+request-8791-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Dear Mr Bresolin,
Subject: Your application for access to documents – GESTDEM 2020/7063
We refer to your e-mail dated 19 November 2020 in which you make a request for access to
documents, registered on the same date under the above-mentioned reference number.
We also refer to our letter of 10 December 2020 extending the time limit to respond to your
request in accordance with Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
1. Scope of your request
In your request, you ask, on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 1049/20012, access to:
“The Advance Purchase Agreements signed with producers of Covid-19 vaccines”.
2. Identification and assessment of relevant documents
We have identified six documents that fall within the scope of your request.
You will find attached a table listing the identified documents.
In an effort to ensure as complete as possible transparency of the process for the purchase of
COVID-19 vaccines, we started discussions with vaccines manufacturers involved in that
process about the possibility to disclose APAs concerning such purchase.
You might be aware that those efforts have already borne some fruits. Following consultations
with CureVac AG on the public disclosure of a redacted version of their agreement with the
European Commission for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines, the decision was taken to make
a redacted version thereof available on a webpage of the European Commission:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/curevac-redacted-advance-purchase-agreement_en
1 According to standard operational procedure, the reply is usually also sent to you by registered post. Please note, however,
that due to the extraordinary health and security measures currently in force during to the COVID-19 epidemics, which
include the requirement for all Commission non-critical staff to telework, we are unfortunately not in a position to follow this
procedure until further notice. We would therefore appreciate if you could confirm receipt of the present e-mail.
2 Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ L
145, 31.5.2001, p. 43).
It was further decided to make a redacted version of the agreement with AstraZeneca AB and
with Sanofi Pasteur SA and Glaxosmithkline Biologicals SA available on the following
webpages.
https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/apa_astrazeneca.pdf
https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/sanofi-gsk-redacted-advance-purchase-agreement_en
We are progressing with the assessment of the other documents included in the attached list in
view of their disclosure. Such assessment includes the consultation of third parties concerned and
has not been concluded yet. Therefore, we are not in the position to attach a copy of those
documents to our reply.
As soon as the assessment is concluded for each document or group of documents, should it
result in a decision to fully or partially disclose and publish the documents, the latter will be
made progressively available on a Commission webpage.
You will be informed in due course of the outcome of the ongoing assessment of the documents
falling under the scope of your request and of the decision that will be taken regarding disclosure
and publication of each of the documents.
In all cases where documents are only partially released or published because full disclosure
would undermine the protection of one of the interests referred to in Art 4 of Regulation
1049/2001, should the interest in question cease to warrant the protection afforded by that
provision, the Commission will review and adjust the corresponding redactions as needed. As a
consequence, the released version of the relevant documents will be replaced with a more recent
one with fewer redactions.
I trust that you will appreciate the complexity of the task undertaken by the Commission and the
sensitivity of the assessment, which prevents the Commission to respond within the deadlines set
out by Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
Yours sincerely,
Sandra GALLINA
Director-General
Enclosure: Annex with the list of documents
Electronically signed on 02/03/2021 19:47 (UTC+01) in accordance with article 11 of Commission Decision C(2020) 4482
Document Outline
