The criminal investigation by Belgian prosecutors against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen regarding the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer has moved to the European Public Prosecutor's Office. Politico reported, citing an unnamed source from the public prosecutor's office in Liège, Belgium, that the European Prosecutor's Office has been investigating von der Leyen's discussions with Pfizer's CEO, Albert Bourla, about the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines for several months.
Security agencies are looking into "interference in government functions, deletion of text messages, corruption, and conflicts of interest." The newspaper noted that this is the first time the European Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation against the President of the European Commission, although no formal charges have been filed yet.
The report indicated that Hungary has joined this case by filing a complaint against von der Leyen regarding the vaccine talks. Poland submitted a similar complaint in 2023 but later withdrew it after Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government took office.
Since the beginning of 2021, the European Commission has entered into contracts with six Western companies for the supply of over 3 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines through 2024. The first contract was signed with Pfizer, and von der Leyen coordinated this contract directly with the company's management via text messages before the clinical trials for this vaccine were completed. Subsequently, the European Commission refused to publish these communications, claiming they were "accidentally lost."
