--- title: "Ursula von der Leyen signed off 320 million euros of EU recovery money for a res…" source: "https://www.instagram.com/p/DeJ9Ka_IA2N" platform: "Instagram" factual_accuracy: 64 overall_accuracy: 25 tags: ["EU funding", "EU politics", "European Union", "corruption", "bribery", "transatlantic corruption", "Ursula von der Leyen"] --- # Source fact-check: Ursula von der Leyen signed off 320 million euros of EU recovery money for a res… Original post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DeJ9Ka_IA2N Factual accuracy: 64% · Overall accuracy: 25% ## Source post **Target post by @meeswynants** > Ursula von der Leyen signed off 320 million euros of EU recovery money for a research centre in Padua. > > Her husband sits on the supervisory board of the company that took a role in it. She flew to Rome herself to approve Italy's share of that fund. > > She calls it a coincidence. > > #vonderleyen #eu #brussels #corruption #politics > [attached video 0](https://scontent-iad6-1.cdninstagram.com/o1/v/t2/f2/m86/AQPAV6fZTX7gHtdPyT0LPqXZ3WvU34lZ8f3tB5PzmFMrCLYZyiiRSNSFbfeDUQcwEdzbI0odXBZozFe4W8P4ngC5RHaaa6aj5VGA7kU.mp4?_nc_cat=102&_nc_sid=5e9851&_nc_ht=scontent-iad6-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_ohc=EaCX2XDtmMIQ7kNvwEIIh0z&efg=eyJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6Inhwdl9wcm9ncmVzc2l2ZS5JTlNUQUdSQU0uQ0xJUFMuQzMuNzIwLmRhc2hfYmFzZWxpbmVfMV92MSIsInhwdl9hc3NldF9pZCI6MTc5ODkzMDk5ODMwNTg1MjIsImFzc2V0X2FnZV9kYXlzIjo1LCJ2aV91c2VjYXNlX2lkIjoxMDA5OSwiZHVyYXRpb25fcyI6NjcsInVybGdlbl9zb3VyY2UiOiJ3d3cifQ%3D%3D&ccb=17-1&vs=78f908fbb1b00bd8&_nc_vs=HBksFQIYUmlnX3hwdl9yZWVsc19wZXJtYW5lbnRfc3JfcHJvZC83QTA3NzU0MTJCNDQ0MDgwODM4RDBCNTg0QzI1MzExM192aWRlb19kYXNoaW5pdC5tcDQVAALIARIAFQIYUWlnX3hwdl9wbGFjZW1lbnRfcGVybWFuZW50X3YyL0IxQTExNUVENjg3QzQ0OUNBNDg0MTc4NjAyOTc0QzU5X2F1ZGlvX2Rhc2hpbml0Lm1wNBUCAsgBEgAoABgAGwKIB3VzZV9vaWwBMRJwcm9ncmVzc2l2ZV9yZWNpcGUBMRUAACa0qdv008v0PxUCKAJDMywXQFDGZmZmZmYYEmRhc2hfYmFzZWxpbmVfMV92MREAdf4HZeadAQA&_nc_gid=2KNZs8gZXqdUl3V18RA79Q&_nc_ss=78689&_nc_zt=28&oh=00_AQP1ZTgpRJQzg6Dmix_ww0cK_rNPn3FedJVxAr257m8lnA&oe=6ACDAD2F) > > Video transcript: Ursula von der Leyen gave $320 million to a project run by your own husband. Call it a family affair. If you did this, this would be a crime. However, she calls it a coincidence. It can happen to any one of us. Let's take a look at the details. So Heiko von der Leyen is a medical director at Or Genesis, an American biotech company. In 2020, its Italian branch became a partner in a huge new gene therapy research center in Padua. That center received a massive €320 million grant, so just free money, from the EU's COVID recovery fund. And because of this company's role, Heiko was handed a seat on its supervisory board. And who's politically responsible for that EU fund? It is his wife, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who personally flew to Rome to approve Italy's recovery money. Imagine this. You get handed a job at the European Commission by Angela Merkel, and then you just hand $320 million to a biotech company in Italy, where your husband is on the board. Considering there was a massive fraud scandal with COVID recovery money in which loads of Italians in the government bought yachts, Ferraris, Rolexes, expensive champagne, new villas, I would guess that not every single euro that went to the biotech research. But hey, who am I to judge? ## Post analysis Verdict: 25% · Model: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · Checked on: 11/10/2026 **Reasoning:** - The post's factual backbone is largely real: a €320 million EU recovery-funded gene-therapy/RNA research programme with its hub in Padua exists, financed mainly by NextGenerationEU[^1]; Heiko von der Leyen is Medical Director of the US biotech Orgenesis[^2]; and he was designated by Orgenesis onto the Padua project's supervisory board in September 2022[^3][^4]. - But the post's central message — a corrupt "family affair" in which Ursula von der Leyen personally steered €320 million to a project tied to her husband — rests on misleading or false framing. - The framing that she "signed off"/"gave" the money is misleading: the €320M was part of Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan, selected and administered by Italy, not directed personally by the Commission President; the funded programme was a nationwide network, not a single Padua entity[^5]. - The post's punchline — "She calls it a coincidence" — is unsupported: there is no reliable evidence she ever used that word, and the documented response came from the EU Transparency Commissioner, who found no conflict of interest[^6]. - The claim that Orgenesis's Italian branch became a partner "in 2020" is off by two years — the foundation was established in 2022 and the Italian subsidiary was incorporated in 2022[^7]. - The husband's board role is overstated in present tense and conflates two different boards (Orgenesis's vs. the Padua foundation's); he resigned about a month after being appointed, and no conflict of interest was found[^4][^3]. - The Rome trip and approval of Italy's allocation are real, though "personally" overstates a collective College decision[^8]. - Net effect: the post takes some true facts and builds a corruption narrative on a fabricated quote and a misleading attribution of personal responsibility, so the overall impression is substantially misleading despite the true elements. **Overall validity**: 25% [^1]: [The gene therapy research center in Padua, Italy received a €320 million grant from the EU's COVID recovery fund.](#2776097f-dbe9-4875-912a-e5c97e448147) [^2]: [Heiko von der Leyen is a medical director at Or Genesis, an American biotech company.](#51c0df40-d4a6-4a11-8789-443dbb183e58) [^3]: [Heiko von der Leyen was given a seat on the supervisory board of Or Genesis due to the company's role as a partner in the gene therapy research center in Padua, Italy.](#64848bf4-2765-48d0-aad4-e53600cedfac) [^4]: [Heiko von der Leyen, husband of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, sits on the supervisory board of Or Genesis, the American biotech company whose Italian branch was a partner in the gene therapy research centre in Padua, Italy.](#a0cc2f5f-05a8-4aa1-b0ce-43d68c2da553) [^5]: [Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, approved €320 million in EU recovery funds for a gene therapy research centre in Padua, Italy.](#943e3392-b542-442f-8c29-c729784f3af1) [^6]: [Ursula von der Leyen characterized the connection between her approval of the EU recovery fund for the Padua research centre and her husband Heiko von der Leyen's supervisory board position as a coincidence.](#09a92192-e295-49ae-8fd8-04b1358ebdd3) [^7]: [In 2020, Or Genesis's Italian branch became a partner in a gene therapy research center in Padua, Italy.](#7aa5dd1f-9304-4ea3-9c1b-4d428b11ea04) [^8]: [Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, personally flew to Rome to approve Italy's share of the EU's COVID recovery fund.](#5e818df4-0e09-43d3-8206-b41be0ece551) ## Claims found (8) ### 1. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, approved €320 million in EU recovery funds for a gene therapy research centre in Padua, Italy. — 30% Model: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · Checked on: 11/10/2026 · Detail: /claim/943e3392-b542-442f-8c29-c729784f3af1 - The claim closely matches a verified entry in the claims database: a €320 million EU recovery-fund grant for a gene-therapy/RNA research center linked to Padua, Italy[^1][^2]. - The core facts check out: there is a real €320 million programme for Italy's National Center for Gene Therapy and Drugs based on RNA Technologies, whose hub is at the University of Padova, financed mainly by the EU's NextGenerationEU post-pandemic recovery fund[^2][^1]. - However, the central attribution — that Ursula von der Leyen personally "approved" the grant — is misleading. Reporting states the money was part of Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan and was selected and administered by Italy, not by the Commission President personally; there is no evidence she personally directed the money to the project[^2]. - The €320 million funded a nationwide network (dozens of universities, public research bodies and private partners), not a single Padua entity[^2]. - On the related conflict-of-interest question, the EU transparency commissioner found no violation of EU rules[^2]. **Overall validity**: 30% [^1]: [The gene therapy research center in Padua, Italy received a €320 million grant from the EU's COVID recovery fund.](#2776097f-dbe9-4875-912a-e5c97e448147) [^2]: [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/e093c4f3-dabd-4863-b724-14f555953504) ### 2. Heiko von der Leyen, husband of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, sits on the supervisory board of Or Genesis, the American biotech company whose Italian branch was a partner in the gene therapy research centre in Padua, Italy. — 75% Model: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · Checked on: 11/10/2026 · Detail: /claim/a0cc2f5f-05a8-4aa1-b0ce-43d68c2da553 - The claim's core nexus is confirmed: Heiko von der Leyen (husband of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen) is Medical Director of Orgenesis, an American biotech company[^1]. - Orgenesis's Italian subsidiary was a partner in the Padua-based gene and cell therapy research project, and von der Leyen was elected/appointed to the project's supervisory board (the University of Padua foundation's *Consiglio di sorveglianza*) on 30 September 2022, as Orgenesis's designated representative[^2][^3]. - However, the claim misstates the board: the supervisory board he joined was that of the Padua gene-therapy research foundation (where Orgenesis placed him), not the supervisory board of Orgenesis itself — at the company he was Medical Director[^3][^1]. - The present tense "sits" is also inaccurate: he resigned from the Padua board in October 2022, about a month after being appointed, following Italian media coverage; the EU transparency commissioner later found no conflict of interest[^2][^3]. - The causal element ("due to Orgenesis's role as a partner") is corroborated — the EU transparency commissioner's letter references declarations by both Orgenesis Inc. and von der Leyen, noting he joined only after the company had been selected[^2]. - Overall: the substance (his Orgenesis role and his seat on the Padua gene-therapy centre's supervisory board) is accurate, but the claim conflates Orgenesis's board with the Padua centre's board and uses a misleading present tense[^3]. **Overall validity**: 75% [^1]: [Heiko von der Leyen is a medical director at Orgenesis, an American biotech company.](/claim/fcc2c9d3-6cfd-4448-b6d7-e225637b0b63) [^2]: [Heiko von der Leyen received a seat on the supervisory board of the gene therapy research center in Padua, Italy, due to Orgenesis's role as a partner in the center.](/claim/0bbd60cf-6e76-418d-9f43-41c6c26cf836) [^3]: [Heiko von der Leyen sits on the supervisory board of the gene therapy research center in Padua, Italy.](/claim/56413d70-5a5a-43bb-8e9e-dfc767caee6e) ### 3. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, personally flew to Rome to approve Italy's share of the EU's COVID recovery fund. — 85% Model: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · Checked on: 11/10/2026 · Detail: /claim/5e818df4-0e09-43d3-8206-b41be0ece551 **Findings:** - The core event is real and documented: on 22 June 2021, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen traveled to Rome and, at a joint press conference with Italian PM Mario Draghi, announced the Commission's formal approval of Italy's pandemic recovery plan[^1]. - The amount was the EU's largest allocation — €191.5 billion (€68.9bn grants + €122.6bn loans) under NextGenerationEU[^1]. - One nuance: she was on a multi-city tour that day (Rome, Berlin, Riga) to launch the recovery fund, so Rome was one stop rather than a single-purpose trip[^1]. - A second nuance: the endorsement was formally a College of Commissioners decision (with final Council sign-off in July 2021), so "personally approve" slightly overstates her individual role — but the trip, the approval, and her role in announcing it are all accurate[^1]. The trip to Rome and the approval of Italy's recovery fund allocation both occurred; the only minor overstatement is the word "personally," given the formal decision was a collective one. **Overall validity**: 85% [^1]: [Ursula von der Leyen flew to Rome to personally approve Italy's EU COVID recovery fund money.](/claim/0b1c26fe-6d9b-467b-9ba2-d986c0f4ca05) ### 4. Heiko von der Leyen is a medical director at Or Genesis, an American biotech company. — 95% Model: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · Checked on: 11/10/2026 · Detail: /claim/51c0df40-d4a6-4a11-8789-443dbb183e58 **Claim verified.** - The verified claims database contains this exact claim: Heiko von der Leyen is listed as Medical Director at Orgenesis, an American biotech company[^1]. - Evidence includes Orgenesis's own management team page listing him as "Medical Director," his LinkedIn profile ("Medical Director at Orgenesis Inc., Sep 2020 to present"), and Wikipedia noting he has been Medical Director of Orgenesis (a cell and gene therapy company) since December 2020[^1]. - Multiple independent sources (company site, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, business databases, and a fact-checking outlet) consistently confirm both the role and Orgenesis's American identity[^1]. - The database assigns this claim a validity of 95%[^1]. **Overall validity**: 95% [^1]: [Heiko von der Leyen is a medical director at Orgenesis, an American biotech company.](/claim/fcc2c9d3-6cfd-4448-b6d7-e225637b0b63) ### 5. Ursula von der Leyen characterized the connection between her approval of the EU recovery fund for the Padua research centre and her husband Heiko von der Leyen's supervisory board position as a coincidence. — 10% Model: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · Checked on: 11/10/2026 · Detail: /claim/09a92192-e295-49ae-8fd8-04b1358ebdd3 The claim matches an entry in the verified claims database. - The exact claim — that von der Leyen called the Padua link a "coincidence" — is recorded as **10% valid** (i.e., largely false)[^1]. - The "coincidence" phrasing traces back to viral social media posts, not to any news report, official statement, interview transcript, or professional fact-check quoting von der Leyen[^1]. - A debunking analysis states there is "no reliable evidence that Ursula von der Leyen... dismissed the controversy as a 'coincidence'"[^1]. - The documented official response came from EU Transparency Commissioner Věra Jourová (finding no conflict of interest), not from von der Leyen characterizing anything as a coincidence[^1]. - The underlying facts are partly real (Heiko von der Leyen briefly held a supervisory board seat; the €320M was recovery/NRRP funding), but the specific "coincidence" quote is unsupported[^2][^1]. **Overall validity**: 10% [^1]: [Ursula von der Leyen characterized the connection between her approval of the €320 million grant for the gene therapy research center in Padua and her husband Heiko von der Leyen's supervisory board seat there as a coincidence.](/claim/5a182855-0454-4f7c-bf46-03829cdad3cf) [^2]: [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/e093c4f3-dabd-4863-b724-14f555953504) ### 6. In 2020, Or Genesis's Italian branch became a partner in a gene therapy research center in Padua, Italy. — 35% Model: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · Checked on: 11/10/2026 · Detail: /claim/7aa5dd1f-9304-4ea3-9c1b-4d428b11ea04 - The claims database directly addresses this claim and rates it 35% valid[^1]. - The Padua-based center is the National Center for Gene Therapy and Drugs based on RNA Technology, created by the University of Padua[^1]. - Orgenesis's Italian branch (Orgenesis Italy Srl) is indeed listed among the center's 49 partner entities, and Orgenesis is described as a founder[^1]. - However, the date is wrong: the foundation was established on 8 June 2022 (governing bodies elected 30 September 2022), and Orgenesis Italy Srl was itself incorporated in 2022 — so the Italian branch did not exist in 2020[^1]. - The "2020" likely stems from a different event (Heiko von der Leyen becoming Medical Director of Orgenesis in December 2020); he was only appointed to the Padua center's supervisory board in September 2022[^1]. - So the underlying relationship is accurate, but the stated year — the central element of the claim — is incorrect by two years[^1]. **Overall validity**: 35% [^1]: [In 2020, Orgenesis's Italian branch became a partner in a gene therapy research center in Padua, Italy.](/claim/530ef743-e7c4-4892-b924-d535660c49b7) ### 7. The gene therapy research center in Padua, Italy received a €320 million grant from the EU's COVID recovery fund. — 95% Model: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · Checked on: 08/10/2026 · Detail: /claim/2776097f-dbe9-4875-912a-e5c97e448147 ##### Reasoning - The claim refers to Italy's **National Center for Gene Therapy and Drugs based on RNA Technologies**, a national consortium whose **hub is at the University of Padova (Padua)**[^1]. - Its funding is **€320 million**, and this "mostly comes from the EU's 'Next Generation Europe' programme" — the EU's post-pandemic/COVID recovery fund[^1]. - The center clusters 32 research institutes, 16 pharmaceutical companies, and a major Italian bank, and supports roughly 900 permanent scientists plus 400 postdocs/PhD students[^1]. - An Italian ecosystem article likewise describes the network as "backed by more than €320 million in funding from the EU's recovery plan"[^2][^3], and the center's own site references "over €320 million in public investment"[^4]. - Minor imprecision: it is a *national* center (consortium) with its hub in Padua, not solely a single Padua institute, and the EU recovery money is the *majority* rather than the sole source. These do not change the substance of the claim. The core facts — a gene therapy research center based in Padua, €320 million, funded mainly by the EU's COVID recovery fund (NextGenerationEU) — are all confirmed. **Overall validity**: 95% [^1]: [Will Italy’s bet on advanced therapies pay off? | Nature Italy](https://www.nature.com/articles/d43978-023-00102-y) [^2]: [Italy builds national network for gene therapy and rna-based medicines](https://wetheitalians.com/news/italy-builds-national-network-for-gene-therapy-and-rna-based-medicines) [^3]: [Italy builds national network for gene therapy and rna-based medicines](https://www.wetheitalians.com/news/italy-builds-national-network-for-gene-therapy-and-rna-based-medicines) [^4]: [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) ### 8. Heiko von der Leyen was given a seat on the supervisory board of Or Genesis due to the company's role as a partner in the gene therapy research center in Padua, Italy. — 90% Model: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · Checked on: 11/10/2026 · Detail: /claim/64848bf4-2765-48d0-aad4-e53600cedfac - The verified claims database directly addresses this claim, rating it 90% valid[^1]. - Core facts confirmed by multiple independent sources: an Italian subsidiary of Orgenesis joined an EU-funded gene and cell therapy project based in Padua, Italy; Heiko von der Leyen (Medical Director of Orgenesis) was designated by the company and elected/appointed to the project's supervisory board in September 2022, then resigned in October 2022[^1][^2]. - The causal element — that his seat followed from Orgenesis's role as a project partner — is supported: the EU transparency commissioner's letter references declarations by both Orgenesis Inc. and von der Leyen regarding his joining the board, and noted he joined only after the company had been selected to take part[^1]. - Supporting context: von der Leyen has been Medical Director at the U.S. biotech company Orgenesis since 2020, corroborated at 95%[^3]. - Minor nuance: the seat was on the supervisory board of the Padua research foundation/project (managing the gene-therapy/RNA research line), not literally of Orgenesis itself; the claim's phrasing slightly conflates the two, but the substance and causal link hold[^1][^2]. **Overall validity**: 90% [^1]: [Heiko von der Leyen received a seat on the supervisory board of the gene therapy research center in Padua, Italy, due to Orgenesis's role as a partner in the center.](/claim/0bbd60cf-6e76-418d-9f43-41c6c26cf836) [^2]: [Heiko von der Leyen sits on the supervisory board of the gene therapy research center in Padua, Italy.](/claim/56413d70-5a5a-43bb-8e9e-dfc767caee6e) [^3]: [Heiko von der Leyen is a medical director at Orgenesis, an American biotech company.](/claim/fcc2c9d3-6cfd-4448-b6d7-e225637b0b63)