EU chief’s texts to a pharma boss during pandemic were likely erased, New York Times reports
Summary
A report by the New York Times states that text messages exchanged between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during the COVID-19 pandemic were likely erased. The European Union’s executive branch previously refused to share these messages under the bloc’s transparency laws, and a court found their explanation for not doing so inadequate. Critics have accused von der Leyen of centralizing power within the EU's executive branch.Key Facts
- Text messages between Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during the COVID-19 pandemic were likely destroyed.
- The messages were exchanged as the EU sought to obtain vaccines during the pandemic.
- The New York Times took the European Commission to court for not sharing these texts under transparency laws.
- A court decided the EU did not provide a good reason for withholding the messages.
- Von der Leyen’s head of cabinet checked her phone and did not find the requested messages.
- The European Commission considers such texts "ephemeral" and not necessarily documents of interest.
- Von der Leyen has had her phone replaced several times since the messages were exchanged, leading to loss of old messages.
- She faced a no-confidence vote related to this issue and other criticisms but survived it.
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