Court: EU’s von der Leyen wrong to withhold Covid-19 vaccine texts

Luxembourg – A European Union court on Wednesday annulled a decision to withhold text messages exchanged between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer chief Albert Bourla on a multi-billion euro deal to buy Covid-19 vaccines.

The court upheld an action filed by the New York Times and its correspondent Matina Stevis-Gridneff after the commission refused to hand over the text messages upon request, arguing it “did not hold any such documents,” according to court records.

The judges concluded, however, that the plaintiffs “have produced relevant and consistent evidence describing the existence of exchanges, in the form of text messages in particular,” the court said.

They have successfully shown that the requested documents exist and are in their possession, the judges ruled.

The commission has the right to appeal.

As reported by the New York Times, personal contact between von der Leyen and Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla was crucial to strike a deal for the EU’s multi-billion euro vaccine purchases at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the spring of 2021, the commission on behalf of the EU’s 27 member states concluded a contract for up to 1.8 billion vaccine doses worth up to 35 billion euro if fully exercised.

The plaintiffs requested access to all text messages exchanged between von der Leyen and Bourla between January 1, 2021 and May 11, 2022, for their reporting.

When refusing the request, the commission failed to provide credible explanations why it did not have the messages and what type of searches it carried out to find them, the court said.

In addition, “the commission has not sufficiently clarified whether the requested text messages were deleted,” the court said.

If the messages were deleted, the commission has to clarify if the deletion was done deliberately or automatically and explain why the texts were not classified as important and retained, according to the ruling.

The commission’s way of handling its Covid-19 vaccine contracts has sparked criticism.

In 2022, the European Ombudsman, an independent body, strongly disapproved of the commission’s response to the requests for access to the texts.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is also currently investigating the EU’s coronavirus vaccine purchases.

In a separate case, the EU General Court ruled last year that the commission had failed to give the public sufficient access to the purchase agreements for Covid-19 vaccines. (May 14)