Fabio De Masi, an MEP and chair of Germany’s left-wing Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) party, filed a lawsuit January 7 against the European Commission over Ursula von der Leyen’s alleged lack of transparency on arms industry contacts.
Announcing the lawsuit he filed at the European Court of Justice (ECJ), De Masi wrote on X: “Frau von der Leyen behaves like [absolutist French king] Louis XIV and refuses to fully disclose contacts with the arms industry. Therefore, I am now suing her before the European Court.”
Von der Leyen’s handling of his parliamentary inquiry into her contacts with the defence industry violates EU treaties and undermines the European Parliament’s democratic oversight role, De Masi says.
De Masi is seeking a precedent-setting ruling to enforce the European Parliament’s right to secure comprehensive answers from the executive.
In March 2025 De Masi submitted a formal parliamentary question to von der Leyen on her contacts with the arms industry.
He requested detailed information on all her interactions with arms manufacturers and lobbyists since mid-2024, including meetings, telephone calls, video conferences, emails, and written correspondence.
The complaint, seen by Brussels Signal, notes his question was not answered within the six-week period provided for in Rule 144(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament.
It argues that De Masi’s rights under Article 230(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union have therefore been infringed.
Formally, the lawsuit is against the European Commission rather than von der Leyen personally.
De Masi argues, though, “from the Bundeswehr’s procurement scandal to the Pfizer affair, Ms von der Leyen has repeatedly been implicated in mismanagement and the deletion of files,” in a press statement he sent to Brussels Signal.
Von der Leyen “initially refused to answer my parliamentary question about her contacts with the arms industry for months and then did so incompletely only after repeated requests from the President of the European Parliament. I will therefore take legal action against the European Commission before the European Court of Justice to defend the rights of the European Parliament, which is elected by the people,” he added.
“There have even been European court rulings against the European Commission President. New procurement scandals are looming with the arms build-up,” De Masi argues.
This inquiry came amid heightened scrutiny of EU defence spending and procurement, as the bloc ramps up its military capabilities in response to geopolitical tensions.
De Masi has long criticised what he sees as potential conflicts of interest in the EU’s dealings with the defence sector, drawing parallels to von der Leyen’s past controversies in other areas such as the Covid-19 vaccine.
For over six months, the Commission failed to provide any response to De Masi’s request for information on Von der Leyen’s contacts with the arms industry, prompting De Masi to escalate the matter.
In September 2025, he posted on social media platform X: “What is von der Leyen hiding? For over six months, Ursula von der Leyen has refused to answer my inquiry about her contacts with the arms industry.”
He also reflected his frustration in an October 2025 post, noting he had met with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
Metsola assured him she would intervene due to the Commission’s apparent breach of parliamentary rights enshrined in EU treaties.
Metsola’s involvement reportedly pressured the Commission into finally responding that month.
However, its eventual reply was deemed inadequate by De Masi.
Von der Leyen’s team referenced a “strategic dialogue with the European defence industry” organised on May 12, 2025, a working lunch, invitations which the President was unable to accept, and congratulatory messages received.
It referred generally to the Commission’s website, the Transparency Register, and other communication channels and social media.
It did not provide any specific details on individual contacts, such as names of executives or the content of communications.
De Masi argued this generic response failed to address the substance of his query and represented a deliberate evasion.
On April 15 2025, the European Parliament’s members’ activities unit contacted MEP Fabio De Masi, initially requesting that he withdraw his written parliamentary question.
The unit cited a communication from the Commission, which indicated De Masi had also submitted a separate request for access to documents on the same topic under Article 15 TFEU (the right of EU citizens to access documents).
De Masi refused, arguing his parliamentary right to pose questions could not be restricted by his parallel rights as a Union citizen to access documents.
He also argued the two requests differed in scope: The parliamentary question sought a comprehensive list of contacts, while the Article 15 TFEU request concerned access to related documents.
The BSW party endorsed De Masi’s comments, in a statement on X.
The party demanded von der Leyen’s resignation, warning potential new procurement scandals would emerge amid the EU’s push for rearmament.
They highlighted Von der Leyen’s track record, including “mismanagement and deletion of records” from her time as German Defence Minister overseeing the Bundeswehr’s procurement issues to the ongoing “Pfizergate” scandal.
In the latter, a 2024 ECJ ruling ordered the release of SMS exchanges between von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla about vaccine contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic, after similar accusations of opacity by Von der Leyen.
A Commission spokesperson responded to the lawsuit by stating: “The Commission expressly does not share Mr De Masi’s legal opinion. However, it is his absolute right to have an administrative decision that does not satisfy him reviewed by the courts.”
