The EU Court decides whether Ursula von der Leyen was supposed to surrender to the journalist messages with the head of Pfizer
On Wednesday, the EU Court will decide whether the European Commission was right to deny the public text messages exchanged by its President Ursula von der Leyen and the executive director of Pfizer Albert Bourl on the eve of the conclusion of the Procurement of the Covid-16 vaccine. The lawsuit was filed by the New York Times and his correspondent Matin Stevis-Greidoff, citing a violation of the transparency rules after the Commission refused to submit text messages on their request. In April 2021, the journalist revealed that von der Leyen and the pfizer’s executive exchanged SMS messages, and on the eve of the conclusion of a vaccine procurement contract. Next year, she requested all the text messages that Von der Leyen and Bourla exchanged between January 1, 2021 and 11 May 2022, and according to the legal right to access the EU public documents.
The rejection of the commission prompted her to present the case before the European Court of Justice, with the support of her newspapers.
According to the New York Times, a personal contact between von der Leyen and the pfizer’s executive, was crucial to reaching an agreement to buy a vaccine in the EU worth more billion euros at the height of Pandemia Covid-19.
In the spring of 2021. The Commission concluded a contract worth up to EUR 35 billion ($ 38.9 billion) on behalf of the 27 EU Member States) if it is fully made by 1.8 billion doses of the vaccine.
The Commission claimed to be « not owned by such documents » during the rejection of the journalist’s request.
The way the Commission acts with a vaccine agreement against the covid-19 has caused criticism. In 2022, the European Ombudsman, an independent body, sharply condemned the Commission’s response to requests for access to texts.
The Office of the European Public Prosecutor is also currently investigating the purchase of a coronavirus vaccine in the EU.
In a separate case, the EU General Court ruled last year that the Commission did not provide the public with sufficient access to the sale contracts for the Covid-19 vaccine.
Hearing on November 15, 2024. It led to a vibrant exchange between two sides in Luxembourg. Bondine Kloostra, a New York Times lawyer, accused the Commission of « breaking the principles of good administration and communication » overlooking the importance of these text messages.
On the other hand, Paolo Stancanelli, a lawyer responsible for the defense of the Commission, claimed that the exchanged SMS messages were not part of the negotiations on the purchase of vaccines in any way. He acknowledged the existence of messages, but also claimed that the contract negotiations did not take place via SMS.
Furthermore, the Commission services, of which 2022 were asked to find these messages, contacted the Von der Leyen office, from which it was said that they could not « find them ».
The affair sparked controversy within the Brussels institutions, and in January 2022. The Commission indicated through a spokesman that he was considering an update of her policy about the approach to documents, not citing additional details.
