European Public Prosecutor’s Office investigates Ursula von der Leyen for purchasing Pfizer vaccines – World

Ursula von der Leyen, Pfizer

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating allegations that negotiations between the president of the European Commission and Pfizer for the purchase of vaccines against Covid-19 did not follow the rules. European investigators were left with the case that was taking place in Belgium, according to the newspaper Political, quoting the spokesman for the Liège prosecutor’s office.

The court case investigates Ursula von der Leyen for possible “interference in public functions, destruction of messages, corruption and conflict of interest”. Although the investigation is into possible crimes, the case still has no defendants.

The judicial investigation began in 2023 after a complaint filed by Frédéric Baldan, a Belgian lobbyist with links to anti-vaccine groups and specializing in Europe-China trade relations. Later, the Hungarian and Polish governments also joined the process, although Poland must drop the complaint, since the position of prime minister is now occupied by the pro-European Donald Tusk.

The original complaint focuses on the alleged exchange of messages between the president of the European Commission and the CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, which resulted in an agreement to purchase vaccines against Covid-19 and which ended up being the largest of its kind. made by the European Union (EU) – will represent 20 billion euros. The case, publicized by The New York Timesin 2021 it became known as “Pfizergate”.

After revealing the case, the North American newspaper sued the European Commission to force the organization to reveal the content of the messages exchanged between the two responsible, which are believed to have been fundamental in sealing the agreement and where counter-parties may have been established. . The Commission has refused to reveal the content of the messages or even confirm that it still has them available.

The deal was seen at the time as a success for the European fight against the pandemic, at a time when the bloc was faced with limited access to vaccine doses. But after the peak of the pandemic, the number of doses that were included in the agreement for the following years has raised doubts, with at least 4 million euros in doses that were wasted.

Asked about this process, Ursula von der Leyen, who is seeking re-election in office, responded to the Political that “everything that was necessary about this [as mensagens de texto desaparecidas] was said and sent. And let’s wait for the results.”