Romania should contact Pfizer, upon the pharma group winning a court ruling envisaging EUR 600 million payment owed by the Romanian state in the account of 29 million of Covid-19 vaccine doses contracted but not ordered, prime minister Ilie Bolojan announced in an interview with EuropaFM, according to Economica.net. Romania should negotiate the payment in instalments to stop the accumulation of interest and seek ways to appeal the decision announced by a court in Brussels on this case on April 1.

Total payments Romania owed to Pfizer at this moment, including interest, reached RON 3.5 billion (EUR 686 million), PM Bolojan said.

The case was politically instrumentalised by Social Democrat (PSD) leader Sorin Grindeanu, who is currently striving to push the junior ruling partner Save Romania Union (USR) out of the ruling coalition. The initial contract was signed in 2021 by a minister of USR, at a time when the government was led by former Liberal (PNL) prime minister Florin Citu. 

Separately, more clarity was gained on the entire deal. The contract was signed in May 2021 under a framework agreement negotiated by the European Commission, for some 39 million doses, at a time when Romania already was in possession of enough doses (based on a low vaccination rate). Some 10 million doses were redirected to other countries. 

Vlad Voiculescu (Save Romania Union, USR), minister of health at the time but dismissed several weeks before the signing of the contract at the origin of the EUR 600 million debt (the contract was signed by his succesor, Ioana Mihaila), claimed that his successor Alexandru Rafila (Social Democratic Party, PSD) avoided joining other EU countries that used a certain Article 5 in the contract that allowed for spreading the sale of a smaller number of doses (some 25% fewer for Romania) over a longer period of time (2023-2026) at a discounted price – against front payment. Romania would have saved some EUR 260 million (compared to the current EUR 686 million owed), former minister Voiculescu said.

Voiculescu also claimed that Rafila was serving as the health minister when Article 5 was enforced by the other EU countries (except for Romania and Poland) under a joint action.

Vlad Voiculescu, as well as another former minister, Ioana Mihaila (USR), and former prime minister Florin Citu, are investigated by prosecutors of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) in connection with the deal. 

iulian@romania-insider.com

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