BRUSSELS ― The European Commission was wrong to refuse the release of Ursula von der Leyen’s text messages with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, an EU court has found.
Reporters had asked to see the secret messages between the Commission president and the drug company boss, which they exchanged ahead of a multibillion euro vaccine deal agreed between Pfizer and the EU.
The judgment could have huge repercussions for transparency and accountability in the EU and delivers a massive blow to von der Leyen’s reputation.
In a statement, the EU’s General Court said the Commission had “failed to explain in a plausible manner why it considered that the text messages exchanged in the context of the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines did not contain important information or information involving follow-up the retention of which must be ensured.”
The existence of the texts — which the Commission initially didn’t confirm — were revealed in an interview von der Leyen gave with the New York Times in 2021.
But the EU executive told the court in Luxembourg during the hearing last year that their contents weren’t significant enough for them to be classed as documents — so therefore they weren’t registered and available to be released to journalists.
In its statement, the court added: “The Commission cannot merely state that it does not hold the requested documents but must provide credible explanations enabling the public and the Court to understand why those documents cannot be found.”
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