The judge said on Wednesday that in a judgment that helps shape the EU must be transparent on issues of public interest, the group should not deny the demands of journalists to request a set of critical text messages exchanged along with the group negotiated for coronavirus vaccines.
The ruling was issued by the New York Times' second largest court against the European Commission in 2023, the General Court of Luxembourg.
The case focuses on the committee’s decision not to release text messages between committee chairman Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, who exchanged during a 2021 deal with the Covid-19 vaccine.
The legal issue at the heart of the case is whether the Commission’s text messages are considered documents under EU law and in which cases they should probably retain and disclose documents. The committee believes that the text messages are “short-term” and therefore are not covered by the group's transparency requirements.
“The committee cannot simply state that it does not hold the requested documents, but must provide a reliable explanation so that the public and the court can understand why the documents cannot be found,” the court’s judge said in their ruling.
They added: “The Commission has not yet explained in a reasonable way why it believes that text messages exchanged in the context of Covid-19-19 vaccine procurement do not contain important information.”
Now, the European Commission has the option to do so.
The case raises questions about the public's access to information about negotiations that taxpayers make money and shape public policies, and can also set legal precedents for legal precedents in formal documents in the EU.
This may also have an impact on the reputation the European Commission has disclosed at important moments. Ms. Von der Leyen started her second five-year term as leader of the committee late last year, starting her second five-year term, where she has adhered to core values such as democracy and transparency.
“It's a case of transparency, but ultimately about accountability,” said Nick Aiossa, director of the anti-corruption group International International International International International International.
The ruling is the climax of years.
The April 2021 Times reported that Ms. von der Leyen and Dr. Bera had a month of exchange and appeals in negotiations to ensure the use of the EU.
After reading this article, Alexander Fanta, a journalist at the time in German news media, filed a request for free information to the committee, requesting text messages. He didn't give it to them. The EU's Ombudsman criticized the move, saying the Commission had caused bad management by inadequate search of Mr. Fanta's request and was unable to fully search for text messages.
But the committee did not back down.
The Times and its former head of the Brussels Bureau, Matina Stevis-Gridneff, then made similar requests for the news. When access to the message was denied, the Times brought the committee to court and filed a lawsuit in early 2023.
Throughout the lawsuit, the Commission insisted that text messages do not have to be preserved and disclosed, believing that text messages are not subject to EU rules of retention and transparency because they are inherently transient.
The committee representatives did not say at any time whether anyone in the committee except von der Leyen had reviewed the contents of the news. At some point, it said it could not find the relevant information.
“I can't tell you until they exist or if they still exist,” said Paolo Stancanelli, a lawyer representing the committee, during a hearing in November.
When both sides filed a case in Luxembourg at last year's hearing, the Times lawyers believed that the European Commission actively encouraged its staff to use disappearing text messages in communication.
The news caught the attention, partly because they were about the subject of the public interest, a deal for common vaccination.
The vaccine agreement with Pfizer is one of the largest procurement contracts in EU history. It is praised by many as a success. Through it, the group managed to obtain 1.8 billion doses, enough to increase vaccination rates across the EU.
Nevertheless, the committee has suffered transparent complaints about negotiations on the agreement.
The committee has issued an editor's procurement agreement but has not disclosed the full terms of its contract as a guarantee of Covid vaccine. It said it needs to strike a balance between publicizing information and meeting legal requirements for vaccine contracts.
The SMS issue is only used to deepen concerns about disclosure.
“Transparency and public access to government documents play a vital role in democratic oversight,” Bondine Kloostra, a lawyer for the Times, said at the 2024 hearing in the case.
