Health Minister Alexandru Rogobete announced that Romanian authorities are analyzing all legal and financial options to protect the country’s interests in the dispute over COVID-19 vaccine contracts concluded with Pfizer, after a Belgian court ruled that Romania must pay approximately 3 billion lei.
The minister said the decision was issued by the French-speaking Court of First Instance in Brussels and that the amount does not include potential additional penalties. In his public statement, he stressed that the authorities’ approach is focused on defending Romania’s financial interests and clarifying how the decisions that led to this situation were made.
“Today, April 1, the French-speaking Court of First Instance in Brussels ruled in the case concerning the contracts between Romania and Pfizer for COVID-19 vaccines. According to the decision, Romania has to pay approximately 3 billion lei (€300 millions), excluding calculated penalties,” the minister said.
He highlighted the scale of the financial impact on the public budget, comparing the amount to major healthcare investments.
“In concrete terms, we are talking about the equivalent of a new major hospital in Romania. Practically, this is ‘the 4th Regional Emergency Hospital’,” Rogobete stated.
The Health Minister emphasized that the discussion is not about the pandemic or the necessity of vaccination, but about administrative and contractual decisions that are now producing financial consequences.
“We are not discussing the pandemic here. We are not discussing the necessity of vaccination. We are discussing administrative and contractual decisions that today have direct effects on the public budget,” he explained.
According to the data presented, Romania signed its first contract in November 2020 for 12.78 million doses, followed by a second contract in February 2021 for 12.315 million doses. Four orders were subsequently placed—two in December 2020 and one each in March and April 2021—all fully paid, totaling around 1.2 billion lei.
A key moment came in May 2021, when a third contract was signed for 39 million doses, even though the doses from the previous contracts had not been fully used.
“It is true that in May 2021 we did not know how the pandemic would evolve, but it is clear that we knew the country’s population would not double,” the minister said.
In January 2022, Romania transferred part of the doses to other countries—5 million to Germany and 1.5 million to Hungary. From the remaining quantity, Romania ordered 3.7 million doses, fully paid at a cost of 352 million lei.
According to Rogobete, around 29 million doses were neither ordered nor delivered, yet they currently generate payment obligations of approximately 3 billion lei.
“This is the real issue. It is clear that the contracted volumes far exceeded the real need, considering Romania’s population and the evolution of the vaccination campaign,” he said.
The minister stressed that he does not intend to accuse anyone, noting that establishing responsibility is the role of the judiciary.
“I do not want to accuse anyone. That is not my role. That is the role of justice. But I can observe one simple thing: the lack of administrative responsibility is obvious when you look at the figures,” he stated.
He also pointed to the May 2021 contract as particularly problematic.
“In particular, the decision from May 2021—the contract for 39 million doses—raises legitimate questions. It is a huge quantity, with no clear connection to the epidemiological reality, no estimate correlated with the vaccination rate, and no solid public health justification,” Rogobete explained.
He warned that the financial impact directly affects the healthcare system.
“The impact is direct: money that should have gone to hospitals, medicines, and services for patients is now tied up in litigation,” he said.
The minister added that authorities are waiting for competent institutions to clarify how these decisions were made and who was responsible.
“We expect the relevant institutions to clarify, from a legal and administrative point of view, who made these decisions, how the estimates were carried out, and why the third contract was signed under these conditions,” he stated.
At the same time, the Ministry of Health is reviewing available options to limit the impact on the public budget.
“We are analyzing all legal and financial options to protect Romania’s interests. We will not sugarcoat reality and we will not avoid the truth,” Rogobete said.
He concluded by emphasizing that public trust depends on accountability and transparency.
“Trust is built on facts. And responsibility is not optional,” the minister stated.
