The General Court of the European Union announced today that it is annulling the European Commission's decision rejecting a request by a New York Times journalist for access to text messages exchanged in 2021 and 2022 between Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. The subject of the correspondence is related to the delivery of over one billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, BTA reports.
The media requested access to all short messages between Von der Leyen and Bourla for the period from January 1, 2021 to May 11, 2022. The European Commission refused, arguing that it did not have such documents. In response, the journalist filed an appeal with the Court of Justice of the EU, demanding that the decision be annulled.
The Court upheld the appeal and stressed that the rules on access to documents aim to ensure the widest possible public access to information held by the European institutions. In principle, access should be granted to all documents, regardless of their form.
In its judgment, the Court noted that the explanations of the European Commission were inconsistent, inaccurate or based on assumptions. The publication presented convincing evidence of communication between the President of the Commission and Bourla, which refuted the claim that the messages did not exist.
The Commission, according to the Court, did not provide a credible explanation for the absence of these messages - neither what search was carried out, nor where it was carried out. It is also unclear whether the messages were deleted, how and for what reason, or whether the President's mobile device was replaced.
Furthermore, the European Commission has not explained why it considered that the messages did not contain essential information that would require preservation or follow-up.
The Court concludes that in such cases the institution is obliged to remedy the deficiencies identified as a result of the judgment. That judgment may be appealed to the Court of Justice of the EU, but only on points of law, within two months and ten days of its notification.