‘Pfizergate’ verdict – EU Court finds Commission and Ursula von der Leyen guilty [Article from 14/5/25]

‘The European Commission was wrong to refuse the release of Ursula von der Leyen’s text messages with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, an EU court has found.

‘Reporters had asked to see the secret messages between the Commission president and the drug company boss, which they exchanged ahead of a multibillion euro vaccine deal agreed between Pfizer and the EU.The judgment is likely to have huge repercussions for transparency and accountability in the EU and delivers a massive blow to von der Leyen’s reputation. . . .

‘In a statement, the EU’s General Court said the Commission 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 retention of which must be ensured” . . .

‘The existence of the texts — which the Commission initially didn’t confirm — were revealed in an interview von der Leyen gave with the New York Times in 2021.’ 

You can read Politico’s full report here.