BRIEF—EU COVID-19 vaccine procurement

Most COVID-19 vaccine contracts signed by the European Commission lacked specific provisions to address supply disruptions, and procurement processes could have been more scrutinized, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) found in a new report released Monday.

The European Union launched its vaccine procurement strategy in June 2020 and, by the end of 2021, it had signed 71 billion euros ($72 billion) worth of contracts securing up to 4.6 billion doses.

The ECA conclude that the EU secured a diversified vaccine portfolio for EU member states, though it started procurement later than the UK and the USA. The contracts signed in 2021 have stronger provisions on key issues than those signed in 2020.

The ECA found that the Commission had limited leverage to overcome supply challenges and the size of its impact on the ramp-up of vaccine production was unclear.

Its recommendations focus on the need to draw lessons learnt and run exercises to test the EU’s updated pandemic preparedness framework.