https://www.politico.eu/article/eur...der-leyen-from-scrutiny-over-pfizer-contract/
The top ranks of the European Parliament have slammed the door shut to a public cross-examination of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over her personal role in negotiating a multibillion euro vaccine deal with Pfizer.
Last month, lawmakers in the Parliament's special committee on COVID-19 proposed to invite von der Leyen to answer questions on the EU's largest vaccine contract, signed at the height of the pandemic. It was in the run-up to this contract that she is reported to have exchanged text messages with Pfizer's Chief Executive Albert Bourla.
However, at a closed-door meeting Thursday of the Conference of Presidents (CoP) — which includes the heads of all the political groups and the Parliament's president — leaders refused the request to hold a public grilling. Instead they decided to ask von der Leyen to answer questions in private at some point in the future, watering down the invitation to almost nothing
"It was agreed that CoP will be able to raise ... [the Parliament's COVID-19 committee's] concerns in their next regular meeting with the president of the Commission," said an EU official with knowledge of the confidential discussions.
It's an ironic twist given that the controversy surrounding von der Leyen's negotiations with Pfizer has centered precisely on a lack of transparency. Now, any discussions that do eventually take place will happen in front of high-ranking MEPs and out of the public eye.
The European People's Party MEP in the room, Siegfried Mureșan, dismissed the suggestion that the group was protecting von der Leyen — also affiliated with the EPP — as a "conclusion in search of an argument."
"The broad consensus was that we’re in dialogue with her [and] that should continue in the formats that have worked so far and that we have established," he told POLITICO.
But Van Brempt's own S&D group supported the push to only hold the discussions behind closed doors at the CoP, according to a spokesperson. Renew Europe, the third-largest force, also shared the position of EPP and S&D.
Two groups — the right wing European Conservatives and Reformists group and the far-right Identity and Democracy groups — pushed for more accountability for von der Leyen by requesting that she either address the full plenary or speak in front of the dedicated COVID panel.
The top ranks of the European Parliament have slammed the door shut to a public cross-examination of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over her personal role in negotiating a multibillion euro vaccine deal with Pfizer.
Last month, lawmakers in the Parliament's special committee on COVID-19 proposed to invite von der Leyen to answer questions on the EU's largest vaccine contract, signed at the height of the pandemic. It was in the run-up to this contract that she is reported to have exchanged text messages with Pfizer's Chief Executive Albert Bourla.
However, at a closed-door meeting Thursday of the Conference of Presidents (CoP) — which includes the heads of all the political groups and the Parliament's president — leaders refused the request to hold a public grilling. Instead they decided to ask von der Leyen to answer questions in private at some point in the future, watering down the invitation to almost nothing
"It was agreed that CoP will be able to raise ... [the Parliament's COVID-19 committee's] concerns in their next regular meeting with the president of the Commission," said an EU official with knowledge of the confidential discussions.
It's an ironic twist given that the controversy surrounding von der Leyen's negotiations with Pfizer has centered precisely on a lack of transparency. Now, any discussions that do eventually take place will happen in front of high-ranking MEPs and out of the public eye.
The European People's Party MEP in the room, Siegfried Mureșan, dismissed the suggestion that the group was protecting von der Leyen — also affiliated with the EPP — as a "conclusion in search of an argument."
"The broad consensus was that we’re in dialogue with her [and] that should continue in the formats that have worked so far and that we have established," he told POLITICO.
Accountability ... or not
The decision is a defeat for the European Parliament's special COVID-19 committee, led by Belgian Socialist MEP Kathleen Van Brempt, which had pressed European Parliament President Roberta Metsola on the von der Leyen invite. A number of different ideas of how the Commission president might make her appearance, ranging from a public session in front of the committee to a joint hearing in the Conference of Presidents, had been floated.But Van Brempt's own S&D group supported the push to only hold the discussions behind closed doors at the CoP, according to a spokesperson. Renew Europe, the third-largest force, also shared the position of EPP and S&D.
Two groups — the right wing European Conservatives and Reformists group and the far-right Identity and Democracy groups — pushed for more accountability for von der Leyen by requesting that she either address the full plenary or speak in front of the dedicated COVID panel.
