European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is under fire for refusing to disclose text messages about a corona vaccine deal. She has long since refused to do so and a Brussels lobbyist has now filed a criminal complaint against Von der Leyen himself. Even politicians in Brussels struggle with the lack of transparency, says European correspondent Stefan de Vries. “Earlier, MEPs, journalists and the European Court of Auditors have also requested access.”
They want clarity on the vaccine deal with Pfizer, which involved 35 billion euros. “In June 2022, ten member states asked to review the contract with Pfizer because they were left with too many doses,” says De Vries. ‘Member states have to pay for this. Even the European Court of Auditors considered it too expensive and asked for a list of all the experts consulted by the European Commission, but received nothing.’
“There is speculation that he would like a second term as president”
It stands to reason, according to the Commission, that text messages between Von der Leyen and Pfizer’s chief executive now also go undelivered. ‘He Says the duration of text messages is short lived. (…). Furthermore, the Commission claims that the text messages did not contain anything about the decisions. This can no longer be controlled,’ observes the correspondent for Europe.
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Earlier, The New York Times also filed a lawsuit in the European Court over the matter. Now that an indictment is in court, there’s a chance it could become a criminal case, says De Vries. “Furthermore, Von der Leyen can be prosecuted in a personal capacity under Belgian law, which is much more serious.”
For von der Leyen the scandal is painful. It is speculated that he would like to run for a second term as president. Next year there will be European elections and then there will be a new Commission. But with the increase in the number of lawsuits and those missing text messages, it’s becoming much more difficult to follow up,’ says De Vries.
Source: BNR
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