---
title: "Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission President, approved a €320 million grant from the EU's COVID recovery fund for a gene therapy research center in Padua, Italy."
claim_id: "e093c4f3-dabd-4863-b724-14f555953504"
validity: 30
model: accounts/fireworks/models/deepseek-v4p1-flash
---

# Claim: Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission President, approved a €320 million grant from the EU's COVID recovery fund for a gene therapy research center in Padua, Italy.

Verdict: 30%
Model: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
Checked on: 08/10/2026

## Verdict explanation

##### Assessment

**What checks out:**

- There is a real €320 million funding programme for a national gene-therapy/RNA research initiative whose hub/coordinating centre is based at the University of Padova (Padua)[^1][^2][^3].
- The money comes from the EU's post-pandemic recovery fund — Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), financed by NextGenerationEU[^4][^3][^1].

**What does not check out — the central attribution:**

- The claim that Ursula von der Leyen "approved" the grant is misleading. Reporting on the controversy states plainly that "the €320 million was not a cheque written by Ursula von der Leyen to a research centre… It formed part of Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan," and that "there is no evidence that Ursula von der Leyen personally directed the money to the project"[^4].
- Independent fact-checking of the viral version concludes the accusation "goes beyond the available evidence": the money "was not personally awarded by Ursula von der Leyen," and the project was selected and administered by Italy, not by the Commission President personally[^5].
- The €320 million funded a nationwide network (dozens of universities, public research bodies and private partners), not a single Padua entity[^5][^3][^2].
- On the underlying conflict-of-interest question, the EU transparency commissioner found no violation of EU conflict-of-interest rules regarding Heiko von der Leyen's role[^6][^5].

**Reasoning:**

- The claim mixes true elements (the €320M sum, the EU recovery-fund origin, the Padua-linked gene-therapy centre) with a false/misleading core — that von der Leyen personally approved the grant. Sources consistently describe this personal-approval framing as unsupported. The kernel of truth (EU/NRRP money reaching the centre) is real, but the claim as worded misattributes the decision, so it is largely misleading rather than accurate.

**Overall validity**: 30%

[^1]:
    [Will Italy’s bet on advanced therapies pay off? | Nature Italy](https://www.nature.com/articles/d43978-023-00102-y)

[^2]:
    [The Future Is Now: Italy’s National Center enters a new phase for gene therapies and RNA-based medicines - RNA Genetherapy](https://www.rna-genetherapy.eu/the-future-is-now-italys-national-center-enters-a-new-phase-for-gene-therapies-and-rna-based-medicines)

[^3]:
    [Gene therapies and RNA drugs, Italia now has a research network - Il Sole 24 ORE](https://en.ilsole24ore.com/art/gene-therapies-and-rna-drugs-italia-now-has-research-network-AIHw9FMC)

[^4]:
    [Ursula von der Leyen Has a Transparency Problem - https://eutoday.net](https://eutoday.net/ursula-von-der-leyen-has-a-transparency-problem)

[^5]:
    [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdUdRoCIWFa)

[^6]:
    [EU transparency commissioner: No conflict of interest for Ursula von der Leyen’s husband – POLITICO](https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-transparency-commissioner-vera-jourova-conflict-interest-ursula-von-der-leyen-husband-heiko)

## Sources using this claim (1)

- [Ursula von der Leyen approved €320 million for a centre where her husband sits on the board. She f…](/source/instagram:post:DcTgo41k9rr) — 25% — 1 views