The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) is investigating a possible criminal offense related to the negotiations between the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the executive director of the pharmaceutical company "Pfizer" regarding the purchase of vaccines against the coronavirus.
The European Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed that it took over the case from the Belgian prosecutors who had been investigating Von der Leyen for several months for "interference in public affairs, destruction of text messages, corruption and conflict of interest" - writes the portal "Politiko", which had access to documentation about it.
No one has yet been charged in connection with the case.
The investigation was opened by the Belgian authorities at the beginning of 2023 following the criminal complaint of the lobbyist, Frederik Baldan, who was later joined by the governments of Hungary and Poland, but Warsaw, according to the spokesperson of its government, will withdraw since Donald Tusk took power.
Baldan's application refers to the so-called "Pfizergate" affair: the publication of text messages between Von der Leyen and the head of Pfizer, Albert Burle, on the eve of reaching the largest vaccine contract in the EU at the height of the covid-19 pandemic, for more than 20 billion euros.
The New York Times, which discovered the exchange of messages about agreeing terms, sued the European Commission, because it refused to reveal the content of the messages when asked about access to information of public importance.
There will be elections in the EU in June, and von der Leyen expects to win a second term at the head of the European Commission.
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