РУССКИЙ
12:01 03.04.2024 •
EC President Ursula von der Leyen with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla at the Atlantic Council’s Leadership Awards Gala, November 2021.
Photo: European Conservative
Top European prosecutors are investigating allegations of criminal wrongdoing in connection with vaccine negotiations between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the CEO of Pfizer, POLITICO informs.
Surprise guests: Hungary has joined the high-profile case with a complaint in connection to the Commission president’s role in vaccine negotiations too, according to two insiders with knowledge of the matter. Poland lodged its own complaint along the same lines last year, before moving to withdraw it after Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s administration took power, a Polish government spokesperson confirmed.
This means trouble: The fact investigators from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office have in recent months taken over from Belgian prosecutors in an investigation over “interference in public functions, destruction of SMS, corruption and conflict of interest” (per the legal documents, seen by POLITICO) directly targeting von der Leyen and joined by Hungary is an important development. EPPO, which has strong investigative powers, had previously revealed it was investigating vaccine procurement, but never commented on whether it was looking into the Commission’s boss.
Pfizergate what? Von der Leyen, who is seeking a second term in the top job, has been dogged by “Pfizergate” — a series of legal challenges centered around an alleged exchange of text messages between the Commission chief and Pfizer boss Albert Bourla in the run-up to the EU’s mega vaccine deal during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Investigators from the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) have in recent months taken over from Belgian prosecutors investigating von der Leyen over "interference in public functions, destruction of SMS, corruption and conflict of interest," according to legal documents seen by POLITICO and a spokesperson from the Liège prosecutor's office. While EPPO’s prosecutors are investigating alleged criminal offenses, no one has yet been charged in connection with the case.
The probe was originally opened by Belgian judicial authorities in the city of Liège in early 2023 after a criminal complaint lodged by local lobbyist Frédéric Baldan. He was later joined by the Hungarian and Polish governments — although the latter is in the process of withdrawing its complaint after the election win by a pro-EU government led by Donald Tusk, a Polish government spokesperson told POLITICO.
Baldan’s complaint centered around an alleged exchange of text messages between von der Leyen and Pfizer boss Albert Bourla in the run-up to the EU’s biggest vaccine deal at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, in an affair dubbed “Pfizergate.”
The New York Times, which first revealed that the exchange had taken place as the two leaders hashed out the terms of the deal, has launched a parallel lawsuit against the Commission after it refused to disclose the content of the messages following an access to documents request.
News that EPPO is now investigating the case risks putting further scrutiny on the Commission president's role in the mega vaccine deal, which had an estimated value of over €20 billion. EPPO leads pan-European investigations into financial crimes, and in theory could seize phones and other relevant material from Commission offices or in other countries in Europe such as von der Leyen's native Germany.
The development comes at a delicate moment for the EU’s chief, as she navigates the transition to what Brussels observers expect will be a second term at the head of the Berlaymont.
The Commission has so far refused to reveal the content of the text messages, or even confirm their existence.
The deal, negotiated at the height of the pandemic in 2021, was originally seen as a triumph for von der Leyen. But the sheer amount of vaccines purchased has since raised eyebrows, with POLITICO revealing late last year that there were at least €4 billion worth of wasted doses. The vaccine contract with Pfizer has since been renegotiated.
Transparency campaigners and some political opponents have sought to put pressure on the Commission to discuss the case, but von der Leyen has so far avoided addressing it. In a reply to a direct question put to her by POLITICO about missing text messages, von der Leyen said: “Everything necessary about that has been said and exchanged. And we will wait for the results.”
Last year, Baldan, a 36-old Belgian lobbyist with ties to vaccine-skeptic group Bon Sens, lodged a criminal complaint in Belgium in connection to von der Leyen’s role in the vaccine negotiations with Pfizer over what he alleges were acts of "interference in public functions, destruction of SMS, corruption and conflict of interest," according to legal information provided by his lawyer.
The addition of European governments to his complaint adds weight to what might otherwise have been seen as a personal crusade. Hungary, led by Viktor Orbán, a steadfast opponent of von der Leyen, also filed a complaint in connection to the Commission president’s role in vaccine negotiations with Pfizer, according to two insiders with knowledge of the case, speaking on condition of anonymity because of its sensitivity.
Poland lodged its own complaint last November, a Polish government spokesperson confirmed. However, following the election of Tusk in December, “the new government is working [to] withdraw Poland from these proceedings,” the spokesperson said.
The details of the case are not public but the insiders said that while the complaint brought by Hungary is distinct from Baldan’s, it centers on the same text message exchange.
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