The European Court of Justice has upheld a transparency challenge over undisclosed text messages between EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer’s CEO during the Covid-19 vaccine negotiations.
The European Union’s top court has ruled that the European Commission fell short of transparency standards by refusing to release text messages exchanged between Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during the EU’s frantic efforts to secure Covid-19 vaccines.
The Court of Justice of the European Union sided with The New York Times, which had launched legal proceedings after the Commission declined to hand over the messages.
The court found that Brussels failed to provide “plausible” reasons for withholding the texts, calling the Commission’s explanations insufficient.
Wednesday's decision is seen as a setback for Von der Leyen and lends credence to long-standing criticism that her leadership style is overly centralised and lacks transparency.
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Test of EU transparency
In a pointed judgment, the Luxembourg-based court stated that “The Commission cannot merely state that it does not hold the requested documents".
It went on to stress that the EU executive had “failed to explain in a plausible manner why it considered that the text messages exchanged in the context of the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines did not contain important information”.
The ruling effectively annuls the Commission’s original decision and obliges it to reconsider the request, although it remains uncertain whether the messages in question still exist.
The Commission said it would now “adopt a new decision providing a more detailed explanation” and is weighing up whether to appeal the verdict.
Despite the criticism, the EU executive branch maintained that transparency “has always been of paramount importance” to both the institution and its president.
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Freedom of information battle
The case stems from a series of private messages between von der Leyen and Bourla during a critical time in 2021 when the EU was racing to secure Covid-19 vaccines for its member states.
The New York Times – which uncovered the existence of the messages – submitted a freedom of information request that was ultimately denied, prompting the legal battle.
The newspaper welcomed the court’s decision as a “victory for transparency and accountability,” emphasising that even informal or transient communications should not escape public scrutiny.
The Commission had argued that the messages were not preserved because they were not considered “substantive” and therefore were not subject to record-keeping rules.
However, the court dismissed this justification, noting that the Commission had failed to demonstrate what steps were taken to locate the messages or explain whether they were deleted – and if so, how and why.
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Broader concerns
Legal experts and transparency advocates also hailed the ruling, with Transparency International commenting that the outcome was not just about public access to information, but about restoring trust and accountability at the EU’s highest levels.
The case also reopens broader concerns about how the EU handled vaccine procurement, particularly with Pfizer, its main supplier.
Several aspects of the process have remained confidential, fuelling suspicions and prompting further legal scrutiny.
An earlier investigation by the EU’s own ombudsman had already deemed the Commission’s refusal to disclose the texts as “maladministration”.
