The New York Times requested access to text messages exchanged between the boss of Pfizer and the president of the European Commission during the Covid crisis.
The daily newspaper never won its case.
He referred the matter to the EU courts, which will examine the matter on November 15.
Will the text messages exchanged between Albert Bourla and Ursula von der Leyen be revealed one day? THE New York Times hope so. The American daily asked for access to messages between the boss of Pfizer and the president of the European Commission, under freedom of information. Having never won his case, he took the matter to court in the European Union. The latter indicated Monday that the case will be studied on November 15.
The American daily will have its complaint examined by the EU court, established in Luxembourg, said a spokesperson for the court, confirming information from the British newspaper Financial Times. This will be a public hearing, during which both parties will be able to develop their arguments orally and the court will make observations, the spokesperson said. A decision is not expected for several months.
Messages always remained secret
The New York Times relies on a 2001 European regulation relating to public access to documents from the three major EU institutions (Commission, Council and Parliament). The content of these text messages, including the New York Times had revealed the existence in 2021, sparking intense controversy, has always remained secret. The American pharmaceutical laboratory was then the largest supplier of anti-Covid vaccines ordered by the European Union.
The question of purchases of anti-Covid vaccines by Brussels is the subject of several procedures, in Belgium and before the EU justice system. On July 17, the EU court, seized of a complaint emanating in particular from a group of MEPs, pointed out a lack of transparency on the part of the Commission, particularly on the question of the risk of conflict of interest between its teams of negotiators and laboratories.
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These vaccines were acquired in large quantities in 2020 and 2021, as part of group purchases negotiated by the Commission on behalf of the 27 Member States. More than the majority of doses were purchased or reserved for the American-German duo Pfizer/BioNTech, even if five other manufacturers have seen their vaccines approved by the European regulator.
The exchange of SMS messages between Ursula von der Leyen and Albert Bourla sparked controversy even within Brussels institutions. In the summer of 2022, the EU ombudsman ruled “problematic“the Commission’s refusal to send the text messages in question to the press. In response, the Commission stated that this type of document”short-lived” is not preserved, unlike the others, and that searches to find them had remained in vain.
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