The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) has moved to freeze funds owed to the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) to enforce a €1.3 billion Belgian court ruling against Poland in favour of the US drugmaker Pfizer.
The action follows a ruling on April 1, 2026 by a French-language court of first instance in Brussels in a case brought by Pfizer Export against Poland, stemming from a contract signed by the European Commission with Pfizer in 2021 for the supply of Covid-19 vaccine doses, and Poland’s withdrawal from that agreement in 2022 when it no longer needed them. The court ordered Poland to accept about 64 million outstanding doses and pay some €1.3 billion (5.64 billion złoty), plus interest and costs.
Poland, which by then had already sold or donated some of its surplus vaccines, argued that its cases of Covid infection had dropped, while the mass influx of Ukrainian refugees after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 had strained its public finances.
The Polish Government is preparing an appeal against the Belgian ruling, though the judgment is immediately enforceable, allowing Pfizer to begin seeking payment before any appeal is heard.
On July 1, 2026, Romania’s air-traffic agency, the Romanian Air Traffic Services Administration (ROMATSA), was notified that it too had been cut off from funds by Eurocontrol as part of Pfizer’s parallel claim against the Romanian state over undelivered Covid vaccines. A Belgian court ordered Romania to pay about €564 million, a sum growing by roughly €81,000 a day in interest and now put at around €600 million.
PANSA is not a party to the legal dispute with Pfizer but has been targeted as part of efforts by the American company to enforce payment, and has promised to act to remedy the situation.
“At this stage, PANSA is taking all necessary legal steps to have the security measure lifted and the Agency’s financial resources released. A formal objection is currently being prepared and will be submitted within the required deadline. At the same time, together with the appropriate national institutions, we are taking measures to secure the financial resources necessary to ensure the uninterrupted performance of PANSA’s statutory duties.”
The agency added that “the court proceedings forming the basis for freezing PANSA’s funds are entirely unrelated to the Agency’s operations” and assured that “there is no risk of any employee layoffs”.
PANSA acknowledged that, once Eurocontrol received the enforceable court order, it became legally obliged to suspend the transfer of all funds generated from en route navigation charges, both those currently held and future payments, until Pfizer’s claim is satisfied or the legal situation changes.
Eurocontrol is based in Belgium, which is where Pfizer has been fighting its legal battle against Poland.
Eurocontrol, which manages air traffic in Europe, had suspended payment of so-called en route air navigation charges to PANSA, fees which constitute more than 80 per cent of the agency’s revenue, making it the primary source for financing its operations.
Without access to these funds, PANSA could quickly lose financial liquidity, making it impossible to pay hundreds of air traffic controllers, whose work is essential for every passenger aircraft taking off, landing or safely flying through Polish airspace. Polish media have estimated the agency could sustain operations for only around three months on its reserves without the transfers.
The agency could also lose the ability to maintain critical infrastructure, including radar installations and communication systems. For ordinary citizens, this could mean cancelled flights and even the closure of Poland’s airspace.
International aviation regulations require every country to ensure the safety of its own airspace. If a state is unable to do so, responsibility may be transferred to an external provider.
According to the Niezależna portal, if PANSA were to become financially insolvent, Germany’s air navigation service provider, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung, is reportedly prepared to take over the management of Polish airspace.
Poland’s national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) opposition has voiced concern that the government may be willing to accommodate Germany, a country the PiS believes the current Tusk government is eager to please.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on July 10 that the government would ensure PANSA received funds to continue operating and that air safety would not be compromised.
Speaking to reporters, Tusk said he was in talks with finance minister Andrzej Domański over the issue. He said “we of course won’t leave PANSA without help” and that “there won’t be any problems with its operations”.
Tusk, who leads a broad pro-EU coalition government, blamed the previous PiS administration, which ruled Poland from 2015 to 2023. It was under PiS that the vaccines were ordered but then cancelled, triggering Pfizer’s legal action.
“Order, don’t collect them, don’t pay, and then blame the need to pay on their successors, that’s pretty typical of them,” said Tusk. “But it makes my blood boil every time I hear about the Pfizer problem.”
