EU leader von der Leyen faces a libel lawsuit filed by a Member of European Parliament (MEP)
In a notable turn of events, Gheorghe Piperea, a member of the conservative European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) faction, has filed a lawsuit against Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, for alleged defamation.
The legal action stems from comments made by von der Leyen during a motion of no-confidence that Piperea led in July. During the debate, von der Leyen called the signatories of the motion '[Russian President Vladimir] Putin's friends,' 'extremists,' and propagators of 'conspiracy theories.'
Piperea, who initiated the motion in opposition to von der Leyen's secret texts with the chief executive of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in 2021, alleges that these comments were defamatory and politically motivated. He further claims that such claims are not only completely unfounded but also damaging to his reputation and political activity as an elected representative of the European people.
In her plenary speech, von der Leyen personally attacked the initiators of the motion rather than addressing the accusations she faced. The European Commission declined to comment on the allegations.
Manfred Weber, president of von der Leyen's centre-right European People's Party (EPP), described the signatories to the motion as 'puppets of Putin.' Weber's remarks echoed von der Leyen's, further fueling Piperea's claims of defamation.
Piperea alleges that on 20 July, a European Commission spokesperson repeated and endorsed von der Leyen's claims, which he said directly tied his name to alleged Russian propaganda. In his press release, Piperea stated that these claims are not only unfounded but also damaging to his reputation and political activity.
Von der Leyen survived the confidence vote tabled by Piperea. However, she is set to face two more confidence votes in October, one launched by the far-right Patriots for Europe and the most recent launched by the Parliament's Left group.
As the legal proceedings unfold, the incident serves as a reminder of the importance of respectful and factual discourse in the European Parliament, particularly during debates of such significance. The outcome of this lawsuit could set a precedent for future interactions among elected representatives.
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