Ursula von der Leyen. Photo: Jean-Christophe Verhaegen / AFP / Profimedia
A European legislator who has led the failed censure motion against Ursula von Der Leyen sues for slander, because, according to him, the head of the European Commission claimed that he receives orders from Russia, writes Politico.
The Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea (gold), a member of the right-wing political group “European Conservatives and Reformists”, said that the president of the Community Executive chose to “attack personally” in the statements he made during the debates from the censorship motion.
Piperea calls for official public excuses for the comments of the President of the Commission, who, according to him, included the assertion that the signatories of the motion were “friends of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin”, “extremists” and propagators of “conspiracy theories”. A “significant number” of the signatories joined the trial, said the Piperea MEP.
The file was submitted to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJUE), which has not yet been pronounced on its admissibility.
Although defamation cases are usually treated by national courts – as the CJEU is only pronounced on EU – Piperea uses an article in the EU's founding treaty. The article stipulates that the European Union must “repair any damage caused by its institutions or its officials in the exercise of their duties.”
The Commission refused to comment on Piperea's action.
“Putin's puppets”
During the July debate on the censorship motion in Strasbourg, Ursula von der Leyen said that Piperea's arguments were taken “directly from the oldest handbook”.
“We see the alarming threat from the extremist parties that want to polarize our societies with misinformation,” said the chairman of the commission, adding that there is “broad evidence that many of them are supported by our enemies and their peas from Russia or other parts.”
Manfred Weber, the president of the European People's People's Party (PPE) from which Ursula von der Leyen comes from, described the signatories of the motion as “Putin's puppets”, adding that “Putin will like what his friends do here.”
The president of the political group of “Socialists and Democrats”, Iratxe García, also referred to Piperea and the signatories of the motion as Putin's allies.
Piperea submitted the censorship motion, which forced a debate and a vote against Von Der Leyen, in mid -July, after gathering enough signatures on the secret of secret messages, between the head of the European Commission and Albert Bourla, the executive director of the Farmaceutic Pfizer giant.
During the July debate on the censorship motion, Piperea accused the “non -democratic” commission of making the EU's decision -making process “opaque and discretionary” and that, thus, the institution sparked “fears of abuse and corruption”.
An unprecedented movement against Ursula von der Leyen: Two censorship motions in the European Parliament
