Ursula von der Leyen

A journalist and subsequently the New York Times requested access to messages exchanged during Pfizer negotiations. The Commission maintained that they had not been registered or retained as documents. In 2022, the Ombudsman found the Commission's method of searching for the messages amounted to maladministration. In May 2025, in case T-36/23, the General Court held that the Commission had failed to provide a plausible and coherent explanation of its search for, possession of or disappearance of the messages and annulled the refusal decision. In 2026, Reuters confirmed that the Commission had not appealed that judgment.

State of the evidence

Established

Attribution

Directly implicated

MEPs requested the contracts to examine prices, liability, compensation and the identities of negotiators. The Commission provided heavily redacted versions. In July 2024, the General Court found certain redactions insufficiently justified. The Commission appealed aspects of that judgment. In June 2026, the Advocate General of the Court of Justice considered that the appeal should be dismissed and emphasised the particular public interest in transparency over negotiations. The opinion was non-binding and must be distinguished from the final judgment.

State of the evidence

Established

Attribution

Indirectly implicated

In October 2022, the EPPO confirmed for the first time that an investigation into Covid-19 vaccine procurement in the EU was under way. In May 2024, it provided procedural clarification following the transfer of Belgian complaints. Prosecutors declined to comment on the substance to avoid compromising the investigation. Politicians frequently describe the matter as an 'investigation against von der Leyen', an excessive formulation: the officially confirmed subject is vaccine procurement, with no personal indictment announced.

State of the evidence

Ongoing

Attribution

Protagonist not prosecuted

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted

The Commission considered that Hungary had met certain judicial independence conditions and released access to approximately €10.2 billion. The timing coincided with difficult negotiations over aid to Ukraine, creating suspicions that the funds had been used as political leverage. The European Parliament brought proceedings against the Commission in 2024. In 2026, the dispute remained politically active despite the change of government in Hungary; the Commission maintained that its funding decision rested on separate legal criteria.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Institutional responsibility

In December 2024, von der Leyen concluded a revised political agreement with the four Mercosur countries despite fierce opposition from France, agricultural unions and NGOs citing competition in beef, poultry and sugar, differing standards and environmental risks. The agreement was signed in January 2026. The European Parliament subsequently sought an opinion from the Court of Justice on its compatibility with the treaties, suspending its own ratification, while the Commission moved towards provisional application of the trade provisions following South American ratifications.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

On 27 July 2025, von der Leyen visited Donald Trump's Turnberry golf resort and concluded an agreement intended to prevent a trade escalation. The United States applied a baseline tariff of 15% to most European exports, while tariffs on steel and aluminium remained at 50%. The framework referred to $750 billion in European purchases of US energy, purchases of military equipment and $600 billion in European corporate investment. French officials and economists challenged the agreement's imbalance and the EU's legal ability to guarantee private investment. In June 2026, the European Parliament ultimately approved the legislative measures needed for the agreement.

State of the evidence

Established

Attribution

Directly implicated

Three European Ombudsman inquiries examined the Commission's urgent preparation of legislation on sustainability omnibus measures, the Common Agricultural Policy and combating migrant smuggling. In November 2025, the Ombudsman found that several procedural shortcomings taken together constituted maladministration: inadequate public justification of urgency, poorly documented derogations from Better Regulation rules, interservice consultation shortened to less than 24 hours over a weekend in one case, late publication of evidence and lack of clear records of certain climate consistency checks. The cases were closed in June 2026 following the Commission's response, with recommendations and future monitoring.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

The death of the family's pony attracted particular attention when the Commission launched a review of wolves' protected status, a change already sought by farmers and livestock breeders in several states. The European proposal was subsequently adopted under the Bern Convention, opening the way to less stringent management rules. Environmental NGOs condemned a biodiversity setback, while some opponents suggested that von der Leyen's personal experience had influenced her agenda. No formal finding of a personal conflict of interest was made; growing wolf populations and damage to livestock provided genuine political context.

State of the evidence

Documented

In 2023, Belgian lobbyist Frédéric Baldan lodged a criminal complaint in Liège personally targeting Ursula von der Leyen, Albert Bourla and other parties, alleging misuse of office, destruction of documents, conflicts of interest and corruption in connection with vaccine purchases and text messages. Several hundred, and later more, parties joined the action. In January 2025, the Liège court declared the proceedings inadmissible, notably because the complainant lacked sufficient personal interest. On 22 October 2025, Belgium's Court of Cassation dismissed the appeals, definitively closing those proceedings.

The July 2023 memorandum provided for economic and energy cooperation and action against irregular migration amid deteriorating rights in Tunisia. NGOs and MEPs denounced the risk that the EU would outsource migration control to authorities accused of abusing migrants and refugees. The European Ombudsman opened an own-initiative inquiry and found that the Commission had not carried out a specific, explicit human rights assessment before signature, while acknowledging some monitoring mechanisms subsequently established.

State of the evidence

Established

Attribution

Directly implicated

The Commission condemned Hamas's attack on 7 October 2023, and von der Leyen visited Israel on 13 October. Some diplomats, MEPs and institutional staff considered her initial communications too unconditional in their support and criticised the failure to refer explicitly to international humanitarian law. She publicly made that reference several days later. In 2024 she called for a ceasefire in response to the risk of famine, and in 2025 the Commission considered economic measures concerning Israel. The controversy therefore mainly concerns the first days, institutional competence and allegations of a double standard compared with Ukraine.

State of the evidence

Established

Attribution

Political responsibility

The July motion was the first to target a Commission since 2014 and referred to the refusal to disclose Pfizer messages, transparency and climate policies, among other issues. It received 175 votes in favour, 360 against and 18 abstentions, far short of the required two-thirds majority. In October, two further motions were rejected, one brought by the Patriots and another by the left, with additional criticism concerning the US trade agreement, Mercosur and Gaza. The repeated votes showed growing political opposition but also a sufficient parliamentary majority to keep the Commission in office.

State of the evidence

Established

Attribution

Political responsibility

In an interview published in late August 2025, von der Leyen spoke of detailed preparations potentially involving tens of thousands of European troops, supported by US capabilities, under post-conflict security guarantees. Boris Pistorius called the remarks premature and emphasised that troop deployment decisions belonged to states, not the European Commission. The controversy illustrated the extension of her political role beyond the Commission's traditional executive powers.

State of the evidence

Established

Attribution

Directly implicated

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, von der Leyen travelled to Baku and signed a memorandum with President Ilham Aliyev intended to increase Azerbaijani gas supplies to the EU substantially, describing Azerbaijan as a 'reliable' or 'trustworthy' energy partner. Human rights organisations and opposition figures condemned replacing dependence on one authoritarian regime with another and criticised the legitimisation of a repressive government.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

As early as 2019, von der Leyen promised a common, independent ethics body for EU institutions. Following Qatargate, Parliament criticised the Commission for still not presenting the expected proposal. When it arrived in 2023, MEPs considered it inadequate: a mainly standard-setting body without its own investigative or sanctioning powers and with limited independence. An interinstitutional agreement eventually established an ethics body in 2024.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

The Commission maintained that it had followed a multistage selection process. Commissioners and MEPs nevertheless challenged the impartiality of the decision, given the appointee's political proximity to von der Leyen and reported assessment results favouring other candidates. In April 2024, Parliament called for the appointment to be reconsidered. Pieper eventually announced that he would not take up the position, and von der Leyen suspended a fresh selection process until after the elections.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Amid widespread farmers' demonstrations, von der Leyen announced withdrawal of the sustainable use of pesticides regulation proposed in 2022, which included a target of reducing pesticide use by 50% by 2030. Parliament had rejected the proposal, and it was blocked in the Council. Environmental organisations denounced capitulation and a retreat from the Green Deal; von der Leyen called the proposal a 'symbol of polarisation' and promised a new, more consensual approach.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Von der Leyen travelled to Cairo with several European leaders to conclude a 'strategic and comprehensive partnership' potentially mobilising €7.4 billion through macro-financial loans, investment, grants and dedicated migration funding. NGOs, elected officials and the Ombudsman expressed concerns about another model of outsourced migration controls involving Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's regime, which has a poor human rights and civil liberties record.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Breton, France's Internal Market Commissioner and a prominent member of the first von der Leyen College, was proposed again by Emmanuel Macron. In his resignation letter of 16 September 2024, he claimed that von der Leyen had asked Paris a few days earlier to withdraw his name during negotiations over France's portfolio and cited 'questionable governance'. Reuters could not independently verify the allegation, and von der Leyen's office declined to comment. Stéphane Séjourné was subsequently nominated.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

For her second College, von der Leyen proposed Italy's Raffaele Fitto, a member of Fratelli d'Italia and the ECR group, as Executive Vice-President responsible for cohesion and reforms, among other matters. Socialists, Greens and some liberals condemned the unprecedented appointment of an ECR figure to such a senior position and accused the President of shifting the Commission's centre of gravity towards the national-conservative right. Following difficult group negotiations, Parliament ultimately approved the College as a whole on 27 November 2024.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

The von der Leyen Commission adopted a complementary taxonomy act allowing certain gas and nuclear activities, under specified conditions, to qualify as investments contributing to the transition. NGOs, scientists, several states and MEPs condemned what they viewed as weakening the 'sustainable' label and greenwashing. The ECON and ENVI committees recommended an objection, but Parliament in plenary failed to achieve the absolute majority needed to block the act, which came into application in 2023.

State of the evidence

Documented

Heiko von der Leyen has professional links with biotechnology company Orgenesis. Its affiliate MIDA Biotech participates in projects receiving European funding, prompting several MEPs to question the Commission. Institutional replies stated that funding decisions were made through established procedures and ruled out a conflict of interest involving the President. Claims that her husband 'worked for Pfizer' are false and must not be repeated.

State of the evidence

Documented

BlackRock Investment Management won a Commission tender to study the integration of environmental, social and governance factors into the prudential banking framework. NGOs complained to the Ombudsman, highlighting that BlackRock was both a major investor and a stakeholder in future regulation. The Ombudsman found that the Commission should have examined the potential professional conflict more rigorously and recommended stronger rules; the Commission subsequently proposed changes to its Financial Regulation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Indirectly implicated

The EU centralised vaccine purchasing for member states. The European Court of Auditors found that by the end of 2021 the Commission had signed contracts worth approximately €71 billion for up to 4.6 billion doses, of which 952 million had been delivered. For the largest Pfizer/BioNTech contract, von der Leyen held preliminary talks with Albert Bourla before the negotiating team's work. Auditors stated that they had not received documentation concerning this personal involvement. The scheme provided shared access to vaccines, but governance of these exceptional negotiations remained disputed.

State of the evidence

Established

Attribution

Personally implicated

In July 2020, the HDZ released a campaign video featuring statements by EPP politicians, including Ursula von der Leyen. Use of her title and the institutional context prompted complaints from civil society organisations questioning whether a Commission President could intervene in a national election in this way. The European Ombudsman did not open a full formal investigation but asked the Commission to explain application of its Code of Conduct; the Commission subsequently announced that it would draw up specific guidance on Commissioners' participation in national campaigns.

State of the evidence

Established

Attribution

Directly implicated

In early 2021, the EU faced strong criticism over slower vaccine authorisations, orders and deliveries than the United Kingdom or United States. During the dispute with AstraZeneca, the Commission briefly adopted an export mechanism that would have activated Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol, raising the prospect of border controls on the island of Ireland; the measure was withdrawn following an outcry. Von der Leyen subsequently acknowledged that the EU had been too optimistic about production, too confident of rapid deliveries and too slow in some decisions.

State of the evidence

Admitted by the person

Attribution

Direct responsibility

During a tour of European capitals, von der Leyen flew the very short distance between Vienna and Bratislava — approximately 50 kilometres and 19 minutes — aboard a chartered aircraft. The episode, revealed later, drew criticism of costs and carbon footprint directed at the president championing the European Green Deal and renewed debate over private flights by EU executives.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

The Federal Court of Auditors and internal audits identified breaches of procurement rules and extensive reliance on consultants. In 2019, the Bundestag established an inquiry committee which heard 41 witnesses and examined thousands of documents. Von der Leyen acknowledged mistakes while defending the value of outside expertise. The inquiry examined networks surrounding senior officials recruited from consultancy firms. Data had been deleted from two official phones used by the former minister, although the information was potentially relevant to the inquiry; she explained that she regularly deleted messages and did not remember any relevant content. The parliamentary majority's final report identified wrongdoing by senior civil servants and military officials but made no accusation against von der Leyen.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

During the Greek–Turkish border crisis, after Ankara announced that it would no longer prevent migrants from heading towards Europe, von der Leyen praised Greece as Europe's 'shield' and announced material and financial support. At the same time, Greece temporarily suspended registration of new asylum applications, while NGOs documented violence, summary expulsions and shooting at the border. The phrase became emblematic of criticism that European policy prioritised border controls over asylum safeguards.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

In 2018, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces identified major shortcomings: none of the six submarines was operational for part of the year, fewer than half of certain combat aircraft were available, and units lacked armoured vehicles, spare parts, protective vests and equipment. Von der Leyen requested additional funding and highlighted years of underinvestment. The controversy concerned her ability to turn the ministry around after five to six years in office.

State of the evidence

Established

Attribution

Direct responsibility

A project initially presented as a limited refurbishment became an extensive reconstruction. Parliamentary questions cited costs rising from approximately €9.6 million to at least €135 million. The affair fuelled criticism of procurement controls and ministry supervision while von der Leyen was already facing the consultants scandal and problems with military readiness.

State of the evidence

Established

Attribution

Political responsibility

After the leading Spitzenkandidaten failed to secure a majority among heads of state and government, the European Council nominated Ursula von der Leyen on 2 July 2019 as part of a compromise over senior EU posts. She had not been a lead candidate in the European elections. Donald Tusk stated that no country had opposed the final package but that Germany had abstained on the Commission presidency because of coalition disagreements, while specifying that Angela Merkel personally supported the package. On 16 July, the European Parliament elected her by secret ballot with 383 votes in favour, 327 against and 22 abstentions; 374 votes were required, leaving a margin of nine. The sequence sparked lasting controversy over transparency in negotiations between leaders and the political abandonment of the Spitzenkandidat mechanism.

State of the evidence

Established

Attribution

Political responsibility

In the proposed structure of her first Commission, von der Leyen gave the Vice-President responsible for migration, security and education, among other matters, the title 'Protecting our European Way of Life'. Political groups, academics and civil society organisations criticised an implicit association between migration and a threat to Europe's way of life, which they said resembled radical-right framing. Following parliamentary discussions, the title became 'Promoting our European Way of Life'.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Political responsibility

After the arrest of officer Franco A, suspected of preparing far-right violence, evidence showed that warning signs had been handled inadequately. Von der Leyen then accused the Bundeswehr of an 'attitude problem', poor leadership and misplaced esprit de corps. Her remarks provoked a strong response from military personnel and politicians who accused her of casting suspicion on the entire armed forces. She subsequently apologised for the overly broad nature of her original criticism while maintaining the need for reform.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

The allegations emerged in 2015, when Germany had already experienced several political plagiarism scandals. Von der Leyen herself requested an independent review. The faculty identified citation problems and objectionable passages, but its senate voted in March 2016 to retain her degree. The result must therefore be presented as identified or alleged academic shortcomings without revocation of the degree, not as a fraudulent doctorate.

State of the evidence

Established

Attribution

Directly implicated

Von der Leyen lived in California between 1992 and 1996 during her husband's research stay. Her biographies referred, among other things, to her status as an 'auditing guest' at Stanford in 1993 and a market analysis for Stanford Health Services Hospital Administration in 1995. In October 2015, while her thesis was being examined, Stanford initially stated that she had not enrolled in an official programme awarding credits, a certificate or a degree and challenged the use of the university's name in that context. Von der Leyen produced evidence of her work for the hospital administration and her attendance as an auditor. Stanford subsequently withdrew its accusation of misuse of the university's name, finding her activities sufficient to warrant mention.

State of the evidence

Established

Attribution

Personally implicated

Expert assessments commissioned by the ministry concluded that the G36 assault rifle could suffer a substantial loss of accuracy when heated or under certain temperature conditions. In April 2015, von der Leyen declared that the G36 'has no future' in its existing form. Heckler & Koch disputed the analysis. The opposition also criticised years of ignored warnings and the ministry's provision of incomplete documents to Parliament, making the case emblematic of procurement and Defence oversight failings.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

The fourth federal poverty and wealth report, prepared under von der Leyen's Labour Ministry, became controversial when critical passages on wealth concentration, low wages and income trends were removed or softened in the final version following interministerial coordination. Opposition parties, unions and media outlets described the report as 'glossed over' or censored; the government replied that this was the normal process of coordination and updating the data.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Shared responsibility

The proposal sought to combat images of child sexual abuse through blocking lists distributed to internet service providers. It earned von der Leyen the nickname 'Zensursula'. Criticism concerned not the objective of combating child sexual abuse material but technical effectiveness, the risk of overblocking and the establishment of a state filtering infrastructure. In 2011, the government ultimately decided that blocking had become unnecessary and prioritised removal of the content.

State of the evidence

Established

Attribution

Directly implicated

Following a Constitutional Court ruling requiring a new method of calculating basic benefits, Labour Minister von der Leyen championed reform of Hartz IV and an education and participation package for children in low-income households. The limited increase in cash payments, and particularly distribution of targeted benefits through vouchers and local schemes, drew criticism over bureaucracy, administrative costs, stigmatisation and real access to assistance.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

As Federal Family Minister, von der Leyen championed the Elterngeld parental allowance, months reserved for the second parent and a substantial expansion of childcare places for children under three. This modernisation triggered a cultural dispute within her own party: CDU/CSU conservatives accused her of weakening the traditional family model, favouring institutional childcare and excessively expanding the state's role. She defended freedom of choice and the need to reconcile work and parenthood.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

As Lower Saxony's Minister for Social Affairs, Women, Family and Health under Christian Wulff, Ursula von der Leyen participated in an austerity policy involving abolition of the regional flat-rate allowance for blind people. Approximately 11,400 recipients then received €409 a month. The measure triggered demonstrations and a public campaign; in 2006, the government restored an allowance in reduced and modified form, presented as a retreat from the policy advocated during her tenure.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Shared responsibility