EU Commission loses on all counts in Pfizergate legal case
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.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/14/eu-commission-loses-on-all-counts-in-pfizergate-legal-case
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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.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/14/eu-commission-loses-on-all-counts-in-pfizergate-legal-case
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00The European Court of Justice ruled against the European Commission on Wednesday in a major transparency case concerning COVID-19 vaccine deals.
00:08Judges found the Commission failed to plausibly explain why it doesn't possess text messages between President Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.
00:18The New York Times brought the case to obtain access to messages about the procurement of billions of euros worth of vaccines.
00:25The court stated that if such documents cannot be located, the Commission must provide credible reasons and not just claim they are missing.
00:38Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine was the first authorized in the EU in December 2020, leading to huge contracts in 2021.
00:46The New York Times learned of the messages in 2021, but the Commission could not provide them, leading to the January 2023 court case.
00:56Reacting to Wednesday's ruling, the Commission said it will study the decision and issue a new and more detailed explanation.
01:04It reiterated its commitment to transparency, though an official cited the difficulty of registering all informal messages.
01:12The court found that the Commission had not clarified whether the texts were deleted, how or why, and did not detail its search efforts.
01:21The newspaper had argued that the texts qualify as documents under EU access rules and should be made available.
01:29The Commission now has two months to appeal the ruling in a significant case on EU transparency.
01:35Pfizer and its CEO did not immediately react to the court's ruling.
01:38Pfizer and Pfizer and Pfizer.
01:41Pfizer and Pfizer's