President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has survived a vote of no-confidence over her correspondence with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The European Parliament rejected the initiative: 360 MEPs voted against, 175 in favour, and 18 abstained. A majority of two-thirds of the votes was required to pass the no-confidence vote.
The vote took place at a difficult time for the EU, amid attempts to avoid escalating trade disputes with the US and preparations for negotiations on the next seven-year budget.
What led to the vote of no-confidence
The main accusation against the head of the EC concerns her refusal to disclose the content of her correspondence with Albert Bourla during negotiations on the supply of COVID-19 vaccines.
On May 14, the EU Court of Justice overturned the Commission’s decision to deny access to these messages, but the EC itself claims that the correspondence was deleted because it did not contain any significant information.
At the same time, on January 20, the Liège Court of Appeal terminated criminal proceedings in this case, ruling that the claims filed in Belgium against von der Leyen and the head of Pfizer were inadmissible.
The second charge concerns the use of Article 122 of the EU Treaty, which applies in exceptional circumstances. Von der Leyen used it to launch the SAFE defence investment fund worth €150 billion, bypassing the European Parliament.
The third charge is alleged interference in the electoral process through the application of EU legislation on digital services in Germany and Romania.
In response to allegations concerning vaccine procurement contracts, von der Leyen emphasised:
“The 27 EU member states decided voluntarily to jointly procure vaccines. To claim that they were not informed about the contracts, prices and delivery volumes is simply a blatant lie.”
