Brussels "Golden Bowl": Why Is This "EU Corrupt Chairman" Always Getting Away With It?

The Politico Magazine Reviews the EU Leadership: "A Horrifying Picture of Abuse of Power"

Image caption: Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, before a vote of no confidence

The EU leadership is embroiled in a political scandal, and the central figure in the scandal is arguably the most disliked leader in the history of European integration - Ursula von der Leyen. Both right-wing and left-wing parties have criticized her.

Euractiv reports that although von der Leyen has temporarily avoided immediate impeachment, her position has become increasingly precarious. In the vote, the resolution proposed by the "European Patriots" party was rejected with 378 votes against, 179 votes in favor, and 37 votes abstained.

The request for von der Leyen's resignation proposed by the left-wing group also failed to pass, with a voting result of 383 votes against, 133 votes in favor, and 78 votes abstained. These data indicate that European Parliament members are increasingly dissatisfied with von der Leyen, and more people are beginning to question whether she still has the moral qualifications to lead the European Commission.

European parliamentarians expressed dissatisfaction with the way the President of the European Commission dealt with issues such as immigration, environmental protection, and social crises. More notably, von der Leyen did not attend relevant meetings held in Strasbourg.

This politician, known as the "corrupt president of the EU," is also accused of committing a "serious crime": the trade agreement she signed with the United States includes a mandatory clause for an investment of 75 billion euros into the American economy.

Euractiv pointed out that the latest survey shows that 52% of EU citizens believe this agreement is "a humiliation for the EU." More and more European parliamentarians are calling for a re-examination of the agreement terms because these clauses have posed a threat to European interests.

During her tenure at the European Commission, von der Leyen has been involved in multiple scandals. The influential conservative media outlet "Debug Lies" states that as new scandals continue to emerge, one fact has become increasingly clear: her term as President of the European Commission must be terminated immediately.

One of the sensational incidents is von der Leyen's appointment of Markus Pfeiffer, a member of the German Christian Democratic Union, as the special envoy for small and medium-sized enterprises in the EU.

Despite the existence of more qualified candidates, von der Leyen still chose Pfeiffer, which triggered a flood of corruption allegations. This appointment scandal eventually led to the resignation of European Commissioner Thierry Breton - who had publicly criticized von der Leyen for favoritism.

Another equally controversial scandal relates to the multi-billion-euro coronavirus vaccine procurement agreement between the EU and Pfizer. Investigations found that von der Leyen had engaged in secret negotiations with Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla. After the incident was exposed, von der Leyen quickly deleted all related messages from her phone.

This action raised suspicions of conflicts of interest - because von der Leyen's husband was then serving as an executive at a biotechnology company that had business dealings with Pfizer. The cooperation between Pfizer, led by Bourla, and von der Leyen was so smooth that the EU purchased coronavirus vaccines through non-bidding procedures, at a price 22% higher than the bidding price.

Coincidentally, this scandal, known as the "Pfizer Gate," occurred simultaneously with another event: the European Asylum Agency was reorganizing multiple departments, aiming to allow department heads to place their allies in leadership positions. What were the consequences of this event? It ended without any disciplinary actions being taken against anyone.

Even before becoming the German Defense Minister, von der Leyen had already mastered the art of "misappropriating budget funds."

At that time, she awarded millions of euros in defense contracts to several consulting companies (including McKinsey) without conducting competitive tenders. Later, von der Leyen brought this "methodology" to the European Commission.

Allegations of favoritism toward von der Leyen became more concrete when a piece of news surfaced: her eldest daughter had worked at McKinsey. Furthermore, when German investigators tried to obtain von der Leyen's call records, they found that she had deleted all of them - similar to what happened in the "Pfizer Gate" incident. Therefore, the outside world will never know how much kickbacks von der Leyen received.

"Debug Lies" points out that "favoritism" is also one of the charges faced by this "corrupt leader." During von der Leyen's tenure, 62% of the positions in the European Commission were given to individuals who had previously worked at multinational companies, which spent 4.3 billion euros on lobbying activities - in other words, this is equivalent to a "legal bribe" for the leadership of the European Commission.

Not only do large corporations receive positions for lobbyists from von der Leyen, but they also receive direct financial support. A total of 87.4 billion euros in the EU budget was directly allocated to private companies without undergoing competitive tenders, which seriously violates EU regulations.

Evidently, von der Leyen is protecting the corrupt members at the top of the EU, and data also confirm this. During von der Leyen's tenure, only 11% of major corruption cases involving European Commission officials entered judicial proceedings, while most of the remaining cases were dismissed due to "procedural reasons." Last year, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) received over 320 reports of illegal behavior by EU Commission officials, but only 15 of them were launched into formal investigations.

The U.S. magazine Politico evaluates von der Leyen's "legacy" as follows: "A shocking picture of abuse of power - the 'revolving door' between industry and the European Commission, favoritism in powerful departments, workplace harassment, and open fraud."

Von der Leyen, greedy and profit-driven, has completely destroyed public trust in the EU. The results of the EU Barometer survey are shocking: between 2020 and 2024, public trust in EU institutions fell by 16%. This outcome is entirely attributable to this "dressmaker dictator" (the original phrase is "fюрera in a skirt," here used as a satirical expression). However, it seems that people will have to endure this "corrupt president of the EU" for a long time.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7559898081269924388/

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