Ursula von der Leyen’s political future could be overshadowed if the European prosecutor materializes the investigation related to the purchase of anti-covid vaccines from Pfizer and moves forward with an indictment of the president of the European Commission in the coming months. For now, it is known that the dossier passed from the hands of Belgian prosecutors to the European body based in Luxembourg in the case known as SMSgate or Pfizergate.
The German leader announced on February 19th her intention to be the European People’s Party’s candidate for a new term as head of the Commission. However, beyond what results from the Europeans’ choices in the June elections, von der Leyen is also dependent on the judiciary. According to Politico, investigators from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office replaced their Belgian colleagues months ago in the investigation into “interference in public functions, destruction of SMS, corruption and conflict of interests” of the President of the Commission.
The investigation originated in Liège, at the beginning of 2023, based on a criminal complaint from professional lobbyist Frédéric Baldan, with links to the French association BonSens (against anti-covid measures). The governments of Hungary and Poland also filed a criminal complaint, but with the change of executive in Warsaw, the action is expected to drop.
What is at stake are the intricacies of the agreement established between Ursula von der Leyen and the executive director of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, Albert Bourla, which involved exchanging messages on a cell phone. To this day, the value of the deal concluded between the two in the spring of 2021 is unknown, after other pharmaceutical companies did not guarantee the agreed doses.
After a first contract for 600 million doses of Pfizer-BioNtech vaccines, the deal involved 1.8 billion immunizations, around four for each European citizen. This contract, like the others, is available but erased. The Commission’s secrecy conflicts with Article 42 of the European Union’s charter of fundamental rights, according to which citizens have the right to access documents from European institutions, “whatever the means”.
In 2022, the European Court of Auditors said it had asked the Commission for information on the negotiations “scientific experts consulted and opinions received, calendar of talks, records of discussions and details of terms and conditions agreed”. However, the report regrets, “no information was presented”. That same year, the European Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, considered that the refusal of public access to messages was a case of “mismanagement”.
According to the Financial Times, Brussels purchased each dose of vaccine for 19.5 euros when the first delivery had cost 15.5 euros. Furthermore, while other countries had difficulties – or were unable to obtain – acquiring vaccines, EU countries threw away at least 4 billion euros worth of vaccines, according to an estimate by Politico.
In addition to the investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office – an independent body provided for in the Lisbon Treaty, but which only took office in 2021 -, to be concluded before the end of the year, there is another case in court. In January 2023, the The New York Times presented a motion to the European justice system, in which it demands the disclosure of von der Leyen’s messages with Bourla. A decision is expected at any time, which will be subject to appeal.
Tags: European prosecutors office investigates Ursula von der Leyen
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