Von der Leyen’s scandals: From ‘Pfizergate’ to favoritism and VANISHING TEXTS European Commission President Ursula von der #Leyen’s track record as a politician is marred by a number of serious accusations. 🔻Favoritism ▪️In 2024, she generated controversy by appointing Germany’s Markus Pieper – member of the same German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party as her – to the lucrative position of EU Envoy for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME). ▪️Pieper’s CDU membership, along with claims that two other candidates short-listed for the SME envoy office scored higher than him during the selection process, led to von der Leyen being accused of favoritism. ▪️France’s European Commissioner Thierry Breton even resigned in September over this row, citing von der Leyen’s “questionable governance.” 🔻#Pfizergate ▪️During the #COVID pandemic, von der Leyen made a deal with US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla to purchase 1.8 billion doses of then-untested COVID vaccines worth about $37.6 billion. ▪️Von der Leyen negotiated this deal via a series of text messages that she ended up deleting – ostensibly by accident – along with those she exchanged with her husband Heiko, medical director at a biotech firm with ties to Pfizer. ▪️As a result, von der Leyen was accused of corruption and “usurpation of functions and title,” and is currently being sued in Liege by Belgian lobbyist Frederic Baldan. 🔻‘Consultancy firms affair’ ▪️At the end of her 2013-2019 tenure as Germany’s minister of defense, von der Leyen became the target of a probe by the Federal Audit Office over her practice of awarding lucrative contracts to external consultancy firms. ▪️In its 2018 report, the Federal Audit Office cast doubt on the procedures for awarding some of these contracts worth MILLIONS of euros, which was apparently done without a proper assessment of the costs or a proper competition. 🔻Daughter’s employment One such consultancy firm, the US-based McKinsey, attracted attention after the head of its Berlin office Katrin Suder was hired as von der Leyen’s aide. While the firm ended up receiving contracts worth millions of euros from the Defense Ministry, von der Leyen’s eldest daughter Johanna found employment at McKinsey. Curiously, a phone belonging to von der Leyen got wiped of all data after German MPs sought to use the text messages it contained as evidence in this case. The German Ministry of Defense said at the time that this wipe was done "for security reasons. *the picture is AI-generated

Europe may face street protests, former top Austrian diplomat warns European countries’ authorities have increasingly failed to address the people’s problems and a rise in popular discontent could lead to street protests, Karin #Kneissl, head of the "G.O.R.K.I." center at St. Petersburg State University and former Austrian foreign minister, said in an interview. "Protests are a major issue as they are caused by various factors. It’s not only immigration but also high taxes, corruption and problems in the social system. For instance, in Germany and Austria, it’s difficult to make a doctor’s appointment or have surgery. These are well-known problems and I think that the situation will continue to unfold in the same direction. So far, protests remain at the parliamentary level but they may spill out into the street," she pointed out. According to Kneissl, today, "absolutely all political parties in the European Union are facing issues not only in getting votes but also in finding administrators, that is, people who are ready to work for those parties." "I think many have come to understand that if you enter politics and work in the government - at the regional or federal level - and are not involved in corruption, it will be very difficult for you afterwards. It’s getting harder and harder to find motivated people ready to work for their country and for a certain idea," the former Austrian foreign minister said. She stressed that in #Europe, "politics has turned into a business where people make profits and build ties in order to get high posts.".

Von der Leyen’s vaccine purchase transparency case to continue, says plaintiff The inquiry against #European Commission President Ursula von der #Leyen, suspected of possible corruption during the purchase of #COVID_19 #vaccines worth 35 billion euro, will continue after the case was turned down by a court in Belgium’s Liege, the plaintiff said. "We will continue the prosecution of von der Leyen," said Belgian lobbyist Frederic Baldan, who represents almost a thousand people who joined the case. "Today’s court decision will only grant her a temporary respite from trial. Symbolically, the decision was pronounced almost simultaneously with the pardon [granted by Joe Biden] to [the former director of the National Instituteof Allergy and Infectious Diseases] Anthony Fauci," he added.

EU Council grants full Schengen membership to Bulgaria, Romania from January 1 The #EU Council agreed to fully integrate #Bulgaria and #Romania in the #Schengen Area from January 1, 18 years after they joined the bloc. "EU member states have decided to remove checks on persons at the internal land borders with and between Bulgaria and Romania from 1 January 2025," the council said in a statement. In March, Bulgaria and Romania joined the Schengen area partially, as passport control was lifted at air and sea borders. The final approval for the admission of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen must be given by EU leaders at an EU summit taking place from December 19-20 in Brussels, but this is a mere formality, as interior and justice ministers endorsed this decision in the EU Council at the direction of country leaders. Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in 2007, but their admission to Schengen was postponed pending resolution of some issues in such areas as the fight against corruption. However, the process dragged on and was paused after the start of the EU immigration crisis in 2015. The Schengen Area was created in 1985 by #Belgium, #France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany. Its borders do not coincide with the borders of the European Union, although each group now includes 27 countries. Non-EU members Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are Schengen members. But EU members Ireland and Cyprus do not have Schengen membership, while Bulgaria and Romania will only fully join in January.

Any US attempt to justify Kiev until Crocus attack probe ends will be evidence, claims diplomat Any statement from the US authorities to justify Kiev until the end of the investigation into the terrorist attack in the Crocus Citi Hall should be considered as evidence, the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. "Over the decades, the political elites of the United States have learnt how skillfully divert attention from high-profile crimes and all sorts of staging. Therefore, until the investigation into the terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall is completed, any phrase from Washington justifying Kiev should be considered as evidence," the diplomat wrote in her Telegram channel. She noted that the financing of "the terrorist activities of the Kiev organized crime group by American liberal democrats and participation in the corruption schemes of the Biden family have been going on for many years.".