Secret vaccine deal
Court rejects urgent appeal against von der Leyen
A Brussels court has rejected a Belgian lobbyist's urgent appeal against a second term in office for EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Frédéric Baldan had "not proven that there is a risk of serious harm", the court announced on Wednesday.
Baldan had accused the EU politician of having negotiated a secret vaccine deal with Pfizer boss Albert Bourla "without any mandate" during the coronavirus pandemic (see video on the deal above).
According to him, the CDU politician also "destroyed public documents" that were supposed to prove the agreements. For example, a journalist had unsuccessfully asked the Commission to hand over text messages between von der Leyen and Bourla. However, the Brussels authority stated that it had not archived the text messages.
Proceedings for lack of transparency underway
On Wednesday, the court classified the allegations as insufficient to justify "an immediate decision". Several proceedings are already underway in Belgium and at EU level in connection with an "alleged lack of transparency on the part of the EU Commission" during the coronavirus pandemic, it said.
For example, the European Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating the purchase of coronavirus vaccines due to the "extremely high level of public interest". The EU Commission has purchased millions of doses for the member states. The contracts with the manufacturers and the costs were never made public.
Re-election could be in July
Ursula von der Leyen is likely to be nominated by the EU leaders for a second term at the head of the Commission. However, she still needs an absolute majority in the European Parliament. The earliest possible election date is between July 16 and 19 in Strasbourg.
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