The European Public Prosecutor’s Office, headed by Kovesi, is investigating the negotiations for the purchase of vaccines between the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and the head of Pfizer

European prosecutors are investigating allegations of crimes related to the vaccine negotiations between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, according to a spokesperson for the Liège Prosecutor’s Office, POLITICO writes.

According to the source cited, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office has taken over from Belgian prosecutors the investigation investigating von der Leyen for “interference in public functions, destruction of text messages, corruption and conflict of interest,” according to legal documents seen by POLITICO and a carrier according to the prosecutor’s office in Liège. While European prosecutors are investigating alleged criminal offences, no one has yet been charged in connection with the case.

The initial investigation by Belgian authorities was opened in early 2023 after a criminal complaint filed by local lobbyist Frédéric Baldan, who had ties to a vaccine-skeptic group. It was later joined by the Hungarian and Polish governments — although the latter is in the process of withdrawing its complaint following the election victory of Donald Tusk’s pro-EU coalition, a Polish government spokesman told POLITICO .

Baldan’s complaint is based on an alleged exchange of text messages between the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the head of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, in the run-up to the largest agreement on vaccines in the EU, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, in -a business dubbed “Pfizergate”. The news that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is now investigating the case risks further questioning the Commission President’s role in the vaccine deal, which was estimated to be worth more than €20 billion, Politico notes.

The institution headed by Laura Codruța Kovesi conducts pan-European investigations into financial crimes and could theoretically seize phones and other relevant material from the Commission’s offices or from other countries in Europe, such as Germany, von der Leyen’s native country, recalls the quoted source . The European Commission has refused to reveal the contents of the text messages or confirm their existence.

In April 2021, the New York Times wrote that the head of the European Commission had exchanged text messages with Albert Bourla as part of the negotiations regarding a vaccine purchase contract, and a journalist asked the Commission for access to those messages and other documents related to these discussions . The EU executive, which was mandated to negotiate the purchase of vaccines on behalf of the member states, agreed to send him three documents (an email, a letter and a press release), but none of the SMS, Hotnews reported.

The contract between the European Commission and Pfizer was negotiated in 2021 and was initially seen as a success for von der Leyen, writes Politico, but the large amount of vaccines purchased has since raised questions. POLITICO revealed at the end of last year that there were at least 4 billion euros worth of wasted doses. Since then, the vaccination contract with Pfizer has been renegotiated.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) confirmed as early as October 2022 that it has an ongoing investigation into the procurement of vaccines against COVID-19 in the European Union, but this time the commercial agreement with Pfizer is explicitly mentioned.

In Romania, Cîțu, Voiculescu and Mihăilă, prosecuted by the DNA in the case of the purchase of vaccines

The former liberal Prime Minister Florin Cîțu and the former Ministers of Health, Vlad Voiculescu and Ioana Mihăilă, have been prosecuted since last December in the case of the acquisition of anti-Covid vaccines. The three are accused of several acts of abuse of office with particularly serious consequences. In essence, the anti-corruption prosecutors claim that the three bought too many vaccines, although the amount originally purchased would have been sufficient for the population of Romania. In January, Pfizer sued the Romanian state for allegedly violating the contract for the purchase of anti-Covid vaccines concluded during the pandemic. According to the website Europa Liberă, Pfizer is asking Romania for 564 million euros for 29 million doses of vaccine ordered during the pandemic, which the Romanian government has given up.