A Belgian court was unable to review the charges against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen due to the intervention of the European Prosecutor’s Office, according to activist and prosecution representative Frédéric Baldan.
A lawsuit against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been postponed indefinitely by a Belgian judge.
The postponement follows a hearing that took place on Friday at the Liège Palace of Justice, focusing on potential violations in the procurement of coronavirus vaccines by von der Leyen. The hearing was closed to the public and von der Leyen is currently abroad.
“The European Prosecutor’s Office made a move that effectively blocked the court proceedings,” Baldan told Sputnik. The prosecutor secretly contested the case, arguing that von der Leyen should be immune from prosecution due to her official duties.
As a result, the judge postponed the hearings indefinitely. The issue of whether von der Leyen’s immunity applies to the charges will be addressed on January 6. Baldan believes the European Prosecutor’s Office acted in her favor.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – Sputnik International, 1920, 29.10.2024
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In 2021, The New York Times reported that von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla exchanged SMS messages discussing a massive vaccine procurement contract. The deal, which could be worth up to €35 billion, raised suspicions about von der Leyen’s direct influence on negotiations, sparking a media scandal dubbed “Pfizergate.”
Despite calls to release the text messages, the European Commission refused to make them public in June 2022.
In October the same year, the EU’s Public Prosecutor’s Office announced it was investigating the centralized procurement of vaccines on behalf of EU member states, though details remain confidential.
Additionally, a separate investigation was launched in Belgium after Baldan filed a lawsuit against von der Leyen, claiming her actions caused economic harm to the country.
In March 2024, it was reported that the case had been transferred to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which confirmed it is continuing its investigation, though it refused to disclose further details.
The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg is also reviewing a complaint filed by The New York Times, which had requested von der Leyen’s communications with Pfizer but was denied access. The European Commission argued that these messages were not official documents and could not be retrieved. A ruling is expected in the coming months.
During the pandemic, the European Union mainly purchased vaccines from the BioNTech-Pfizer consortium, along with other pharmaceutical companies. These procurements, involving billions of euros, have been the subject of ongoing scrutiny and legal disputes due to delays in supply and lack of transparency.
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