Today the General Court of the European Union will rule on The New York Times' appeal against the Commission decision to not disclose the text messages exchanged between the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the CEO of Pfizer.
The text messages were exchanged as negotiations for a deal on Covid-19 vaccines between the European Commission and Pfizer were underway. A hearing was held before the Grand Chamber of the EU General Court in November 2024. At the heart of the case is whether the text messages qualify as documents under the EU transparency law.
The New York Times is represented by lawyer Bondine Kloostra.
See also:
- E. Braun and M. Eccles, 'Von der Leyen faces critical test as EU court decides on secret "Pfizergate" texts', 12 May 2025 (Politico.eu)
- E. Bonini, 'Covid: Commission rejects allegations of non-transparency over message exchanges with Pfizer', 13 May 2025 (EUNews)
- (In Dutch) A. Boone, 'EU-hof doet uitspraak in Pfizergate: werkwijze en reputatie EU en Von der Leyen op het spel', 13 May 2025 (NRC)
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