Pfizergate: EU prosecutors say von der Leyen has not yet given an in-person statement

The probe into the vaccine talks

Ursula von der Leyen has not yet given an in-person statement to the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in its investigation into the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines, according to an individual involved in the probe who spoke to POLITICO on condition of anonymity. EPPO took over the case in 2024 from Belgium, where the inquiry was first opened. The investigation concerns alleged irregularities in the negotiations between von der Leyen and Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla, an affair known as Pfizergate. According to documents seen by POLITICO, prosecutors are examining possible interference in public functions, the destruction of text messages, corruption and conflict of interest. Asked whether von der Leyen was among the officials in question, Kövesi declined to comment on individual investigations.

Kövesi's warning at the end of her term

Laura Codruța Kövesi, whose seven-year tenure ends in late October 2026, told POLITICO that she has repeatedly dealt with EU officials who refused to answer summonses from her office. She said the office faces particular obstacles when the people under investigation are high-profile politicians or wealthy people tied to the political class. Kövesi also spoke of attempts to weaken the institution through underfunding and bureaucratic obstacles. She said the office has difficulties exercising its competence when important people are involved.

“Some politicians think that they are above the law. If you are called in for a statement, you have to come.”

Funding, staffing and legislative delays

Kövesi said EPPO should have 230 European delegated prosecutors on paper, but its budget finances only 180. Funding for its security services covers only a third of the costs needed, she said. She described the Polish office as needing 24 delegated prosecutors while only 15 are active. She said Greece was where she faced the most evident attempt at intimidation, in the context of renewing the mandates of delegated prosecutors. In Hungary, she said, the Commission proposed half of the budget that EPPO said it needed. She also pointed to the review of the EPPO regulation, which she first requested in 2021 and which has been repeatedly postponed.

EPPO, required on paper230

EPPO, funded by budget180

Poland, required24

Poland, active15

EPPO, required on paper

230 prosecutors

EPPO, funded by budget

180 prosecutors

Poland, required

24 prosecutors

Poland, active

15 prosecutors

Data from the article text

The Commission's response

The European Commission rejected suggestions that it had failed to cooperate with the prosecutors. Its spokesperson, Thomas Regnier, told POLITICO that cooperation had always taken place with the full support of the president.

“The Commission has demonstrably cooperated extensively with EPPO to clarify facts and assess events.”

Regnier added that von der Leyen continues to answer open questions within the limits of her duties and her availability as Commission president. The Commission's position stands in direct contrast to Kövesi's account of officials who ignored summonses. Kövesi herself declined to say whether the Commission chief was one of those officials.

What comes next

Kövesi said the main challenge for her successor, German prosecutor Andrés Ritter, will be keeping the office independent and credible. She said she had listened to all the candidates for European chief prosecutor and was worried by one who said his project was to normalize EPPO. She criticized another candidate who spoke of keeping equal distance between the prosecution office and all political parties. She warned that the office, set up in 2017 and operational since 2021, is tasked with rooting out crimes involving EU funds.

“I am concerned that the EPPO is going to be killed softly because it's doing its job.”

Her term ends in late October 2026, and the question of who leads the office next will decide whether the institution keeps its independence.