The European Union’s General Court has delivered a significant blow to the European Commission, ruling that it was wrong to refuse the release of text messages exchanged between Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during critical Covid-19 vaccine negotiations. The court found that the Commission had failed to provide a credible explanation for denying access to the communications when a journalist requested them in 2021.

The text messages in question, whose content remains undisclosed, date back to a period when Pfizer secured contracts worth billions of euros, including an agreement for 1.8 billion additional vaccine doses. Despite their potential importance in understanding the vaccine procurement process, the Commission claimed it did not possess the messages or did not consider them official documents that required archiving.

Transparency International hailed the court’s decision as a “landmark victory for transparency in the EU,” urging the Commission to abandon its restrictive stance on freedom of information. The organization’s EU political integrity policy lead, Shari Hinds, emphasized that the ruling is about more than just transparency - it is a critical reminder of the institutional accountability the Commission has seemingly neglected.

The Commission now finds itself at a crossroads, with the court demanding a clear explanation for the apparent disappearance of the messages. If the text exchanges were deleted, the court said, the Commission must clarify whether this was deliberate or a result of routine mobile phone replacement, as von der Leyen reportedly changed her device since the journalist's request.

The origins of the case trace back to a 2021 New York Times article in which journalist Matina Stevis-Gridneff revealed that von der Leyen had communicated directly with Bourla while negotiating vaccine supplies. That revelation prompted German investigative journalist Alexander Fanta to submit a Freedom of Information request seeking access to those messages.

However, the Commission rejected the request, arguing that SMS messages were not considered “public documents” and had not been archived as such. The dispute deepened when the European Ombudsman intervened, concluding that the Commission’s refusal to search for the messages amounted to maladministration. The New York Times subsequently took the Commission to court, resulting in Wednesday’s ruling.

For von der Leyen, the ruling casts a shadow over her presidency, which began in 2019 and was extended for a second term last year. Critics say the decision undermines her image as a champion of transparency, given her pivotal role in securing the Pfizer contract - the largest procurement deal in EU history.

The court’s rebuke also delivers a sharp warning to EU institutions regarding transparency obligations. Vincent Couronne, a European law researcher, pointed out that the court has now established a precedent that text messages can be considered public documents if they concern official business. This could prompt a reassessment of how EU officials handle mobile communications in the future.

The Commission now has two months to decide whether to appeal the ruling or comply with the court’s directive to provide a more detailed explanation regarding the missing messages. In its initial response to the ruling, the Commission signaled its intent to reconsider the original request for access but stopped short of committing to a full disclosure.

Meanwhile, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is conducting a separate criminal investigation into vaccine procurement, raising the possibility that investigators could attempt to access telecom data or app servers to retrieve the messages in question.

For now, the fate of von der Leyen’s texts remains uncertain, but the court’s ruling has set a new benchmark for transparency within EU institutions, sending a clear message that digital communications, however fleeting, are not beyond scrutiny.