BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — The New York Times is suing European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in order to get hold of text messages she exchanged with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Politico reports.
The newspaper argues that the EU Commission is legally obligated to release the messages. Now, the matter will be decided by the European Court of Justice. No other detailed information is available, according to Politico.
“MALADMINISTRATION”
It has previously been reported that von der Leyen took it upon herself to negotiate a billion-dollar COVID vaccine deal with Bourla via text messages.
Journalist Alexander Fanta of German digital freedom journal Netzpolitik requested the messages in accordance with the European Union’s freedom of information policies – but was denied. This led to the European Ombudsman accusing the Commission of “maladministration.” According to Fanta, it is beyond any doubt that the messages must be released due to applicable law.
And hurrah, there is. In fact, it's pretty ironclad legally.
— Alexander Fanta (@FantaAlexx) February 13, 2023
Article 42 of the EU's Fundamental Rights Charter says EU citizens have, in principle, the right to access any official EU document - "whatever the medium". That includes text messages.
European Parliament Member Christian Terhes has been a vocal critic of von der Leyen, demanding that she resign and be investigated.
Ursula @vonderleyen is being sued by NY Times over her SMSes with @AlbertBourla, Pfizer CEO. EU Ombudsman identified "maladministration" on how Ursula's office handled these messages. She still refuses to fully publish the contracts #UrsulaMustResignhttps://t.co/8CEYQhiXlv
— Cristian Terhes MEP (@CristianTerhes) February 13, 2023
According to EU auditors, von der Leyen unilaterally negotiated and approved contracts worth over $70 billion dollars for the purchasing of COVID-19 vaccines. Terhes has shown that the contracts are heavily redacted, with entire pages blacked out.
The European Public Prosecutor’s office is currently investigating alleged corruption in connection with the EU’s COVID-19 vaccine procurement.
