#pfizergate

Unlock the Editor’s Digest free of charge Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite tales on this weekly e-newsletter. European Fee president Ursula von der Leyen is dealing with a no-confidence vote over a Covid-19 pandemic scandal that threatens to scupper her second-term coverage agenda. Far-right lawmakers within the European parliament declare they’ve secured enough help for his…

The EU’s top court annulled the Commission’s decision to deny the newspaper New York Times access to messages exchanged between President Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, finding that the EU executive failed to plausibly explain why it does not possess the texts. After a long tug-of-war between the European Commission and The New York Times over transparency surrounding the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine contracts, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) today ruled that the Commission “has not given a plausible explanation to justify the non-possession of the requested documents.” According to the Court, the Commission cannot simply claim it does not hold the requested documents; it must provide credible explanations that enable both the public and the Court to understand why those documents cannot be located. The ECJ found that The New York Times had submitted relevant and consistent evidence indicating the existence of text messages between the President of the Commission and the CEO of Pfizer regarding the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines. “These contracts were totally unprecedented in a totally unprecedented context,” said an EU official ahead of the ruling. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first to receive EU authorisation in December 2020, after an advance purchase agreement for 200 million doses. Subsequent contracts in March and May 2021 secured an additional €2.4 billion worth of doses, with an option for 900 million more. The publication uncovered the existence of the messages in 2021 during interviews with Bourla, but encountered obstacles when requesting access to them. The Commission claimed it could not provide the texts. After repeated unsuccessful attempts to obtain the messages, The New York Times brought the matter before the ECJ in January 2023.

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Az Európai Unió luxembourgi bírósága 2025. május 14-én kimondta: jogellenesen tagadta meg az Európai Bizottság Ursula von der Leyen és a Pfizer vezérigazgatója közötti SMS-ek nyilvánosságra hozatalát. A döntés értelmében a Bizottságnak újra kell vizsgálnia az adatigénylést, és ha az üzenetek még fellelhetők, akkor azokat ki kell adnia.Az üzenetváltás 2021 elején zajlott, amikor a…

In the midst of the pandemic, Ursula von der Leyen held discussions with Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer, to ensure a major supply of vaccines for European citizens. According to journalists from the New York Times, the exchange of text messages on WhatsApp between the two would have been decisive for the negotiation of the purchase of 1.8 billion doses of vaccine, equivalent to approximately four doses for each European citizen. (Photo source: httpsaudiovisual.ec .europa.eu)