Corruption: Ursula von der Leyen has lost text messages of the vaccine deal with Pzifer CEO:
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has apparently deleted chat histories between her and Pfizer boss Albert Bourla once again. This emerges from a response her your authority to the allegation by EU Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly, as reported by the news portal Euractiv. There is talk of “administrative shortcomings” with regard to the procurement of the corona vaccine.
In response to O'Reilly, von der Leyen's agency announced that the search for the short messages had "brought no results." According to revelations in the New York Times in spring 2021, the President of the Commission and as the former German Defense Minister, calls the Pfizer boss “Dear Albert”, and conducted negotiations on around 1.8 billion doses of corona vaccine via SMS.
Criticism also from the EU Parliament
According to the Financial Times, which apparently had insight into parts of the contracts and reported on them almost a year ago, the price rose by a whopping four euros to 19.50 euros per dose after the chat between Bourla and von der Leyen. Experts estimate the price per dose to be less than three euros.
Meanwhile, the non-governmental organization SumOfUS, which campaigns against corruption and for corporate control, launched a petition that more than 100,000 supporters have already signed, according to the Netzpolitik.org portal. Their demand: The President of the Commission should make the course of negotiations on the purchase of the vaccine transparent.
Criticism also comes from the European Parliament (EP). "We have a right to know what the commission president discussed with Pfizer's CEO," said Rep. Kathleen Van Brempt. After all, the EP has concluded contracts with Pfizer worth several billion euros, according to the Dutchwoman.
It's not the first time that Ursula von der Leyen's text messages can no longer be found. As early as January 28, the EU Ombudsman ruled that the European Commission "must carry out a more comprehensive search for the relevant news". To date this has not happened.
According to O'Reilly, the commission made no attempt to find the short messages at all at the beginning of the year. According to the ombudswoman, this does not meet the expectations of transparency and administrative standards, because if text messages concern EU measures, then they should be treated as documents. Access to such data is a fundamental right.
Short messages from Ursula von der Leyen also disappeared in 2020. The Minister of Defense at the time was involved in the so-called consultant affair, in which several million euros were spent on consulting firms. Here, too, von der Leyen negotiated mainly via SMS, which could no longer be found at the investigative committee. Her behavior had no consequences at the time.
Von der Leyen's systematic behavior
Transparency Commissioner Věra Jourová published her response to EU Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly last Wednesday. No such text messages were registered. She also sees the procedure in accordance with the legislation on access to documents.
This reasoning is well known: since the document "contains no important information" and is "ephemeral", it "does not fall under the responsibility of the institution" and is therefore not stored. It seems that von der Leyen has been using this loophole successfully for years.
Source: Tichys Einblick
According to the Financial Times, which apparently had insight into parts of the contracts and reported on them almost a year ago, the price rose by a whopping four euros to 19.50 euros per dose after the chat between Bourla and von der Leyen. Experts estimate the price per dose to be less than three euros.
Meanwhile, the non-governmental organization SumOfUS, which campaigns against corruption and for corporate control, launched a petition that more than 100,000 supporters have already signed, according to the Netzpolitik.org portal. Their demand: The President of the Commission should make the course of negotiations on the purchase of the vaccine transparent.
Criticism also comes from the European Parliament (EP). "We have a right to know what the commission president discussed with Pfizer's CEO," said Rep. Kathleen Van Brempt. After all, the EP has concluded contracts with Pfizer worth several billion euros, according to the Dutchwoman.
It's not the first time that Ursula von der Leyen's text messages can no longer be found. As early as January 28, the EU Ombudsman ruled that the European Commission "must carry out a more comprehensive search for the relevant news". To date this has not happened.
According to O'Reilly, the commission made no attempt to find the short messages at all at the beginning of the year. According to the ombudswoman, this does not meet the expectations of transparency and administrative standards, because if text messages concern EU measures, then they should be treated as documents. Access to such data is a fundamental right.
Short messages from Ursula von der Leyen also disappeared in 2020. The Minister of Defense at the time was involved in the so-called consultant affair, in which several million euros were spent on consulting firms. Here, too, von der Leyen negotiated mainly via SMS, which could no longer be found at the investigative committee. Her behavior had no consequences at the time.
Von der Leyen's systematic behavior
Transparency Commissioner Věra Jourová published her response to EU Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly last Wednesday. No such text messages were registered. She also sees the procedure in accordance with the legislation on access to documents.
This reasoning is well known: since the document "contains no important information" and is "ephemeral", it "does not fall under the responsibility of the institution" and is therefore not stored. It seems that von der Leyen has been using this loophole successfully for years.
Source: Tichys Einblick
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