European prosecutors take over Belgian probe into Pfizergate
European Public Prosecutor’s Office looking into texts between Ursula von der Leyen and boss of Pfizer.
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,
according to a spokesperson from the Liège prosecutor's office.
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.”
In 2022,
EPPO announced it was looking into the EU’s vaccine procurement more
generally, but this is the first time that the office has been linked
with Pfizergate explicitly.
Trading legal barbs
The case now being looked at by EPPO brings together several
different legal, political and financial strands — and it intersects
with lawsuits that pharmaceutical giant Pfizer brought against Hungary
and Poland.
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. Poland’s complaint was along
the same lines, the two people familiar with the details of the case
said.
Both Hungary and Poland are also being sued by Pfizer
over missing payments for vaccine doses after stopping deliveries,
citing oversupply and the financial strain of the Ukraine war.
A European Commission official said the Commission had no knowledge about possible proceedings other than from press articles.
The Hungarian government didn't reply to a request for comment. Pfizer and EPPO declined to comment.
