In April 2021, The New York Times reported on text message exchanges between Ursula von der Leyen and Albert Bourla concerning the procurement of coronavirus vaccines. The newspaper subsequently sought access to these messages, but the European Commission denied the request, asserting that it did not possess the documents. The Commission claimed that the messages lacked significant content and thus were not recorded or stored as official documents.
However, the Court found this reasoning inadequate, stating in a press release, “The Commission has not provided a plausible explanation for its inability to locate the requested documents.” The Court noted that the Commission failed to adequately justify why the text messages would not include important information and did not require retention.
The Commission has the option to appeal the ruling to the Court of Justice. In its initial response, the Commission indicated it would need to revisit the decision regarding document retention, offering a more comprehensive justification for its earlier stance.
During the pandemic, the Commission represented member states in negotiations with major pharmaceutical companies over vaccine purchases, with Pfizer emerging as the primary supplier. By May 2021, an agreement was reached with Pfizer for the delivery of up to 1.8 billion doses, marking the largest contract the Commission secured in this context.
Kathleen Van Brempt, a member of the European Parliament (Vooruit/S&D) and chair of the special committee that evaluated the European response to the pandemic, also sought full access to the text messages but was unsuccessful. Following the ruling, she expressed her expectation for the Commission to act “consistently,” emphasizing that the European public deserves transparency and accountability from its institutions.
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