The European Commission has defended its refusal to release text messages between President Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, claiming they were not “substantive” enough to warrant registration in the Commission’s document management system.
During a court hearing in Luxembourg on Friday, a Commission lawyer acknowledged that text exchanges did take place but argued they lacked important content related to policy, and thus were not subject to public disclosure.
The case, known as “Pfizergate,” was initiated by the New York Times after it reported in April 2021 that von der Leyen and Bourla communicated directly during negotiations for a major COVID-19 vaccine deal. The paper argues that these texts should be accessible, as they may contain key information regarding the vaccine agreement, which secured up to 1.8 billion doses.
The Commission’s defense hinges on the claim that only “substantive” documents are registered for public access, asserting the texts exchanged were of no significance to the deal’s policy. The court has yet to determine if the messages should be made public.
