[Source/Observer Network, Chen Sijia] According to a Bloomberg report on May 14, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen lost the "Pfizer case" litigation. The EU Court ruled on the 14th that the European Commission refused to disclose the communication records between von der Leyen and the Pfizer CEO during the peak of the pandemic without providing a reasonable explanation for the justification of this action.

The "Pfizer incident" involves the EU's COVID-19 vaccine deal with the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in 2021. According to the contract, the EU promised to purchase up to 1.8 billion doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines. Later reports from The New York Times revealed that during the negotiations, von der Leyen had privately communicated with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla through text messages.

The New York Times requested the European Commission to disclose the communication records between von der Leyen and Bourla, but was rejected by the European Commission. The commission claimed that von der Leyen did not retain these text messages and that the relevant records did not meet the conditions for information freedom under EU regulations. In 2022, The New York Times filed a lawsuit demanding the court to compel the disclosure of these text messages.

On May 14 local time, the EU General Court made a ruling, supporting The New York Times' challenge to the European Commission, and determined that the European Commission did not provide a reasonable explanation.

"The Commission failed to reasonably explain why it believed that text message exchanges during the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines did not contain important information... These records must be ensured to be retained," the court said in a statement. "The Commission cannot merely claim that it has not retained the required records; it must also provide a credible explanation to the public and the court as to why no records were found."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Visual China

In response to this ruling, the European Commission stated: "For the Commission and President von der Leyen, transparency has always been the top priority. We will continue to strictly adhere to the existing solid legal framework to fulfill our obligations." The European Commission said it would "carefully study the General Court's ruling" and decide on its next steps, including providing more detailed explanations.

The New York Times expressed appreciation for the ruling, stating in a statement: "Today's ruling is a victory for transparency and accountability mechanisms in the EU, sending a strong message that text message records are not immune to public oversight."

Pfizer has not faced any allegations of misconduct but declined to comment on the ruling outcome.

Politico Europe believes that the key issue at stake is whether text messages should be classified as documents and thus disclosed under transparency frameworks. While many activists argue that text messages should be treated the same as other official communication channels when it comes to policy-making, the European Commission does not agree with this view.

Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle, a Dutch Member of the European Parliament, considered the Commission's actions as "a blow to transparency," stating that "people simply want to know how decisions were made, even if they were done through text messages."

Politico Europe commented that the ruling may have significant implications for the EU's transparency and accountability mechanisms and could cause a major blow to von der Leyen's reputation. Bloomberg also pointed out that although the European Commission can appeal the ruling to the EU Court, this will place von der Leyen in an awkward position while affecting how the EU administration handles text messages.

During the peak of the pandemic, the EU spared no effort in purchasing COVID-19 vaccines developed by companies such as Pfizer. However, the excessive procurement of vaccines caused certain economic losses, with a large number of vaccines ultimately going to waste. Politico Europe reported in December 2023 that EU countries had destroyed at least 215 million doses of vaccines, worth over 4 billion euros.

This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7504278038549479955/

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