Poland and Romania’s legal battles with Pfizer Inc. over unused Covid-19 vaccine purchases are spilling into the funding of the eastern European nations’ air traffic agencies.
The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency has received notification from Brussels-based Eurocontrol, an inter-governmental body that coordinates air traffic management across Europe, about the freezing of transfers of route charges it collects from airlines to Poland. Romania’s air traffic controller confirmed the same last week.
The moves follow the US drugmaker’s efforts to enforce a 5.6 billion zloty ($1.5 billion) Belgian court award over unpaid vaccine supplies. Pfizer, in a statement, said it took “appropriate steps to ensure compliance through established legal enforcement mechanisms.”‘
“It is unacceptable for institutions responsible for aviation safety to be held hostage over issues that are entirely unrelated to their duties,” Polish Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak told Polsat News on Friday, adding that the government would fill air traffic agency funding gaps from the state budget.
Both Poland and Romania plan to appeal the court ruling while the Polish air traffic agency is requesting that Eurocontrol restore its transfers. Eurocontrol declined to comment, citing ongoing legal proceedings.
Poland and Romania refused to accept all Covid-19 vaccine doses allocated to them under the European Union’s joint procurement and withheld payment for undelivered doses as demand for vaccinations waned during the pandemic. Pfizer sued both countries in 2023. In April, a Belgian court ordered both countries to honor their payment obligations.
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