The content of these messages, revealed by The New York Times in 2021, remains undisclosed, sparking controversy and legal action.
Pfizer was the EU's primary vaccine supplier during the pandemic. When The New York Times requested access to the text messages, the European Commission declined to release them. As a result, the newspaper pursued legal action against the Commission.
A court spokesperson confirmed the hearing date, noting that both parties will present their arguments during the public session. The case will explore whether the messages fall under the EU's 2001 regulation concerning public access to documents from the Commission, Council, and Parliament.
The handling of Covid-19 vaccine procurement by the EU has been scrutinized in multiple legal proceedings in both Belgium and EU courts. In July 2023, the EU court ruled on a complaint by a group of European Parliament members, criticizing the Commission for its lack of transparency, especially regarding potential conflicts of interest between negotiators and pharmaceutical companies.
In April 2021, The New York Times reported that von der Leyen had used a messaging app to negotiate the purchase of 1.8 billion doses of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine. This prompted calls for transparency from journalists and EU lawmakers, including Dutch MEP Sophie in 't Veld.
In response, European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová stated that such "short-lived and ephemeral" messages are not archived, therefore falling outside the scope of EU transparency regulations. However, the lack of transparency has sparked criticism from MEPs and civil society groups who accuse the Commission of avoiding accountability.
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Source: PAP