The European Union did not say COVID-19 vaccines were illegally approved

What's the claim?

A video of an interview from the European Parliament is being widely shared on social media, claiming that the European Union has officially declared that the COVID-19 vaccines were approved illegally. 

The 28-minute video shows four people discussing a letter sent to the European Medicines Agency asking for the withdrawal of COVID-19 vaccines over various concerns. Archived versions of such posts on X (formerly Twitter) can be found here and here.

The claim has also gained traction on Facebook. A user posted the video (archived here) with the caption, "The EU has Officially declared the Covid Death jab / Vaccines were illegally Approved. GITMO is calling." Another user shared a screenshot of an X post that originally carried the video (archived here).

Screenshots of claims made online. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the video does not imply an "official declaration" by the European Union against the COVID-19 vaccines.

What did we find?

The video showed a panel discussion held at the European Parliament, chaired and hosted by John Laughland, an author. The panel comprised Marcel de Graaff, a Dutch politician and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Netherlands, Willem Engel, a Dutch anti-vaccine activist, and Joachim Kuhs, a German politician and also an MEP, who has repeatedly spread false information about COVID-19 vaccines in the past. 

In the video, the discussion was around an October 4, 2023, letter sent by de Graaff, Kuhs, and other MEPs to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), discussing the removal of COVID-19 vaccines from the market. We found that a particular portion — de Graaff's comments at the 3:20 mark where he says, "If you approve a batch of a certain vaccine or a certain medicine, then you expect that the medicine that is approved is the medicine that is applied to patients or to citizens, and if there's a difference between that then you are basically being vaccinated with a non-approved substance" — is being used to further the claim. 

However, the video does not claim to represent an official European Union position, and the letter to the EMA was not an official document of the European Parliament or the EU but rather a communication from individual MEPs.

Additionally, the EMA, in a response on October 18, 2023, addressed the concerns raised in a letter from MEPs dated October 4, 2023. The EMA letter addressed its response to a few MEPs who raised the questions.

European Commission's response to the viral claim and COVID-19 vaccines

Logically Facts contacted the European Commission for a response, and a spokesperson responded, "The claim that the COVID-19 vaccines were purchased illegally is false. The authorization and purchase of COVID-19 vaccines in the EU happened in line with the EU's strict quality, effectiveness, and safety requirements. The safety of EU citizens has always been at the center of our health policy, including our EU Vaccine Strategy, which has proven to be very successful.

"The EU Vaccine Strategy allowed all citizens to receive safe and effective vaccines at the same time, regardless of where they lived in the EU. By working and negotiating together as a Union, we were able to ensure that all Member States had equal access and at a lower price. As a result, we secured access to over 4.6 billion doses of safe and effective vaccines spread over several years to protect Europeans and to donate to third countries," the spokesperson added.

"COVID-19 vaccines had to go through a meticulous and transparent approval process of several stages of clinical trials to prove they meet the high standards, before the European Medicines Agency (EMA) authorized them for public use, like any other vaccine. In this way, quality was not sacrificed for the sake of expediency," he added.

COVID-19 vaccines and efficacy

The World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a study in January 2024 that revealed COVID-19 vaccines prevented an estimated 1.4 million deaths in Europe and parts of Asia. This significant finding highlights the impact of vaccination efforts in reducing the severity of the pandemic. According to the study, the vaccines' effectiveness in preventing severe illness and death from COVID-19 reduced mortality rates in the regions studied.

The verdict

No evidence suggests that the European Union illegally approved COVID-19 vaccines. These claims stem from a letter sent to the EMA by some MEPs, which was not an official EU declaration or document. Therefore, we mark this claim as false. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19, including symptoms, prevention, and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organization or your national healthcare authority.