European Parliament member and leader of the satirical party Die PARTEI, Martin Sonneborn, has ignited a political firestorm by formally proposing targeted surveillance of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The request, lodged as part of a legislative initiative concerning new chat control measures recently approved within the European Parliament, represents a sharp critique of the broader surveillance framework and a direct challenge to the Commission President’s transparency record.
Sonneborn’s proposal explicitly rejects the indiscriminate monitoring of EU citizens – a measure he decries as creating an “Orwellian surveillance system” susceptible to misuse by extremist groups like the Alternative for Germany (AfD) should they gain power. Instead, he advocates for a focused review of von der Leyen’s SMS communications, triggered by specific, justifiable circumstances.
The move stems from ongoing concerns surrounding von der Leyen’s past actions, particularly her prior deletion of SMS messages. Sonneborn argues that this practice has actively hindered investigations into critical issues, including the controversial Pfizer vaccine procurement scandal, where the EU reportedly overpaid approximately €35 billion for excessive vaccine supplies. The lack of transparency has also obscured negotiations surrounding the EU-Mercosur trade deal, where French President Macron reportedly raised significant objections and casts a shadow over unexplained expenditures during von der Leyen’s tenure as Minister of Defence, specifically relating to the use of external consultants.
“We don’t know how and why EU citizens paid an enormous price jump for far too many vaccines. We also don’t know what objections French President Macron had against the critical – and questionable – EU trade agreement with the Mercosur states” Sonneborn stated in an interview with the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung.
Sonneborn frames his proposal not merely as an act of political protest, but as upholding a promise made by von der Leyen herself. He contends that such targeted monitoring is a necessary step toward realizing the transparency she pledged during her election campaign, effectively holding her accountable to her prior commitments. The initiative is certain to fuel a fierce debate within the European Parliament and beyond, raising fundamental questions about the balance between security, oversight and the potential for abuse within EU institutions. Whether the request will gain traction remains to be seen, but it has already served to highlight the simmering tensions surrounding transparency and accountability within the European Commission.
