The mystery will not last long.
This Friday morning, the AstraZeneca group accepted that the European Commission make public the negotiation contract on vaccines against Covid-19.
Available on the Commission website, the forty-page contract was blackened here and there, even over entire pages, "
for reasons of confidentiality
".
Read also: Anti-Covid vaccines: why the EU hides entire parts of the contract with AstraZeneca
A few hours later, the German newspaper
Der Spiegel
revealed that a first version of the contract with AstraZeneca put online by the Commission made it possible to read the blackened parts of the document, thanks to the "
Bookmarks
"
function
of the Acrobat PDF reader.
Once the blunder was revealed and relayed on social networks, the initial document was quickly replaced, putting an end to this gross error - or ignorance?
- computer science.
But the damage was done.
According to the text revealed by
Der Spiegel
, the invoice for the production of the vaccine against Covid-19 amounts to 870 million euros for AstraZeneca, for 300 million doses.
This amount includes all direct and indirect costs and expenses incurred by the UK laboratory for the production and distribution of the vaccine.
These include, for example, costs of labor and materials, operation of plant and equipment, quality control, indirect non-deductible taxes or customs duties.
Still according to
Der Spiegel
, the contract specifies that AstraZeneca will not suffer losses linked to the development of the vaccine.
In fact, if the costs exceed the 870 million euros planned, the laboratory must inform the European Commission.
In detail, if the increase is 20% or more, the British laboratory will have to prove it.
Payment terms
The German newspaper also reveals some passages relating to the terms of payment.
“
The Commission undertakes to pay 336 million euros, two thirds of which will be paid within five days of the entry into force of the contract, on August 27, 2020. It is however excluded that the last third is payable in the 20 days after AstraZeneca demonstrated the use of the first tranche
”, it is written in the document.
The contract also includes the possibility, not used to date, to order 100 million additional doses of the vaccine.
However, no details have been released on the number of doses AstraZeneca has to deliver to the EU.
By "
pure coincidence
", these figures are not discernible with the function "
Bookmarks
", specifies the German daily.
Read also: Covid vaccines: Brussels sees red against AstraZeneca
Britain's AstraZeneca has been under European pressure in recent days due to major delays in deliveries.
The group indicates that it will deliver only 31 million doses by the end of March, instead of the 80 million initially envisaged.
The laboratory says it is not contractually obligated to deliver specific quantities of vaccine on specific dates.
An assertion that the European Commission firmly contests.
Brussels accuses the laboratory of selling its production in priority to the United Kingdom, at the expense of the Member States of the EU.
