Von der Leyen defends vaccine texts, rejects “lies” ahead of no-confidence vote

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen defended her actions over secret text messages with Pfizer’s CEO during the Covid-19 crisis, calling accusations against her “simply a lie” as MEPs debated a no-confidence motion.

Ursula von der Leyen publicly defended herself for the first time over text messages she exchanged with a vaccine chief at the height of the Covid-19 crisis, describing some accusations against her as “simply a lie.” The European Commission president appeared before MEPs in Strasbourg as part of a debate ahead of Thursday’s no-confidence vote. Although the motion is unlikely to succeed, it signals growing opposition.

Much of the criticism has centered on “Pfizergate.” In May, an EU court ruled the Commission was wrong to block access to secret messages exchanged between von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla before a multibillion euro vaccine deal. “It is no secret that I was in contact with top representatives of the companies producing the vaccines that would get us out of the crisis … just as I sought advice from the best epidemiologists or virologists in the world,” von der Leyen told the European Parliament on Monday.

While the Commission had argued the texts were too uninteresting to warrant release, the case became a flashpoint for transparency activists and right-wing groups, who argued that it demonstrated unaccountability in von der Leyen’s Commission. “The implication that these contracts were somehow inappropriate against the European interests is, by any measure, simply wrong,” von der Leyen said.

The no-confidence debate—the first for a Commission president since 2014—was triggered by right-wing Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea over the Pfizergate scandal. Von der Leyen was unrepentant, repeating the Commission’s previous position and not providing new information on the content of the texts.

“Contract negotiations were conducted by the Commission and member states together,” she said. “Every single contract negotiated was examined in detail in the capitals before being signed by each of the 27 member states. There were no secrets, no hidden clauses, no obligation to buy for member states.”

She told lawmakers, “All 27 member states decided to buy vaccines on their own will, so any claims that any member state did not know about the contracts, about the prices or the amounts, is dishonest. In fact, let’s call it by its name. It is simply a lie.”

Von der Leyen also accused critics regarding the text messages of “spinning debunked conspiracies.”

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