Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

MEPs want to grill von der Leyen over Pfizer vaccine contract

MEPs want to grill von der Leyen over Pfizer vaccine contract

The European Parliament’s COVID-19 committee will ask the European Commission president to appear before the panel.
An unwanted invite may soon be landing in Ursula von der Leyen's mailbox.

The MEPs leading the European Parliament's COVID-19 committee have decided to ask the president of the European Commission to appear publicly in front of the panel, according to a statement sent exclusively to POLITICO by the committee's chair, Belgian MEP Kathleen Van Brempt.

Lawmakers want to ask von der Leyen about her role negotiating a massive, multibillion euro coronavirus vaccine contract signed at the height of the pandemic. It was in the run-up to this contract that she is reported to have exchanged text messages with Pfizer's Chief Executive Albert Bourla.

"The European Union has spent a lot of public resources into the production and purchase of vaccines during the pandemic," Van Brempt said in the statement. "[T]he Parliament has the right to obtain full transparency on the modalities of these expenditures and the preliminary negotiations leading up to them."

So far, the Commission President has dodged questions about what went down in those crucial months.

Neither the EU's ombudsman or the Court of Auditors have been able to shed a light on the murky dealings. The European Public Prosecutor's Office, which is armed with legal powers that the other watchdog agencies lack, has opened an investigation into the vaccine contracts, without saying whether the Commission President is its target.

The COVID panel has been looking into the deal — the third and largest contract signed with Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech — and has so far heard from both the Court of Auditors and the ombudsman. But Bourla refused the summons, sending an underling in his stead.

Following the Parliament's rules, the invite will be sent to Parliament President Roberta Metsola, who will decide then whether to ask von der Leyen to attend the hearing. Metsola is a member of the center-right European People's Party group, the same one that placed the Commission President in her role.

The invitation, if it does arrive, doesn't have any legal force. Like Bourla, von der Leyen can refuse to appear. But with calls for greater transparency growing louder as the Qatargate corruption scandal engulfs Brussels, she may feel like she can't say no.

It's not just von der Leyen who is in the MEPs' crosshairs. Van Brempt said in her statement that the committee would also ask to revoke Pfizer's European Parliament access privileges in response to Bourla's refusal to testify. It's happened in the past: Lawmakers voted to ban Monsanto lobbyists in 2017 after the company refused to turn up to a hearing. But it's not automatic — the decision would have to be approved through the Parliament's internal processes. And individual MEPs can continue to sign in Pfizer lobbyists as private guests. 

But even symbolic moves have their place as the EU's institutions try to repair their recent reputational damage.

"Transparency is essential to ensure our citizens’ trust in the European institutions," Van Brempt explained.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Time for a Noodle Tax? Or Just Another Politician Payday?
Kentucky Sheriff Arrested for Fatal Shooting of Judge
Global Workdays Required to Afford iPhone 16
Biden to Meet Zelenskyy at White House on September 26
Tragic Explosions in Beirut Linked to Conflict Escalation
In his podcast, Joe Rogan rightly questioned, "YOU NEED A VACCINE PASSPORT FOR FOOD, BUT VOTER ID IS ‘RACIST'?!"
BYD changing the whole game
Campania President Criticizes NATO Expansion, Warns of Dangerous Consequences
Trump Unveils New Cryptocurrency Venture Amidst Campaign
OpenAI Advances with New AI Model 'o1'
Germany Halts War Weapon Exports to Israel Amid Legal Hurdles
X Update Enables App to Bypass Brazil Ban, Say Internet Providers
Delta Airlines Sets Strict Wardrobe Guidelines for Flight Attendants
Norway Achieves Milestone in Electric Vehicle Adoption
Hezbollah Hit by Explosive Pagers in Lebanon
USA 2024: ‏Trans with crucifix in hand dances on American police car
Here, in Taylor Swift's own words...
Murdoch Family Succession Battle Begins
TikTok Faces Potential Ban in the US Amid Free Speech Concerns
Secret Service Investigates Elon Musk's Controversial Social Media Post
Meta Bans Russian State Media Networks
Ultra-Low Power AI Chip Developed by MIT
Harland & Wolff Shipbuilders to Enter Administration Due to Debt
China and EU Engage in Trade Talks to Defuse Tariff Tensions
Mario Draghi's Call for European Economic Reform
European Hiring Expectations: A Comparative Outlook
Patient Controls Amazon's Alexa Using Brain Implant
High School Dropout Turned Billionaire and Space Tourist
A History of Assassination Attempts on US Leaders
UK To Implement Junk Food Ad Ban to Combat Childhood Obesity
‘Living Nostradamus’ Fulfills Four Predictions, Foresees More Events
Russia and Ukraine Exchange 206 Prisoners in UAE-Brokered Deal
Putin Warns NATO and US on Ukraine Using Long-Range Weapons
Fragmented EU Defence Industry Needs Urgent Coordination
Political Uncertainty Weakens Germany's Investor Confidence
European Car Makers Struggle in the Electric Vehicle Market
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Emphasizes Economic Necessity of Immigration
Bill Gates Warns of Imminent Threats: War and Pandemics
Germany's Foreign Ministry humorously countered U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's assertion that all immigrants eat pets, in a post on the social platform X
Kamala Harris Wins Post-Debate Survey Against Donald Trump
Impact and Aftermath of 9/11 Attacks on the US and the World
Neighbours Criticise Germany Over Extended Border Controls
EU Court Orders Google to Pay €2.4 Billion Fine
Apple Ordered to Pay Ireland €13bn in Unpaid Taxes
UK Upside Down: Woman Attacked, Police Focus on Her Language Instead of the Attacker
Internet Surpasses TV as UK's Leading News Source
Top Former US Military Leaders Endorse Kamala Harris, Criticize Trump
Australia Implements Minimum Age for Social Media Use
Kim Jong Un Announces Increase in North Korea's Nuclear Arsenal
JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT THE UK COULDN'T SINK ANY LOWER… NOW UK WANT TO SUMMON ELON MUSK OVER "TOO MUCH FREE SPEECH" ON X
×