Pfizergate: Juncker admits to deleting text messages
Rewritten Article:
Damn, even ex-EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has seen the light and deleted his fair share of text messages, including those from heads of government and MEPs. In an off-the-cuff chat with the German Press Agency, Juncker, who held the position from 2014 to 2019, admitted that he'd wiped out numerous texts. Guess it ain't that unusual in the Commission, huh?
Moreover, Ursula von der Leyen took a hit in a court case against Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. The court took the EU Commission to task for refusing to hand over SMS exchanges between von der Leyen and Bourla to a New York Times journalist. The ruling's not final yet.
Jean-Claude Juncker, being the sly fox he is, chimed in on the decision, confessing he'd never been told to document his texts. He was flabbergasted at the Commission being accused of neglecting to archive mobile messages, stating, "I have never archived a mobile message."
This whole shebang revolves around a deal for up to 1.8 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine worth an estimated 35 billion euros. The court demanded the Commission to cough up the reason behind withholding the texts or face the consequences if they'd been deleted.
The Freedom Party of Austria (FPOE) stirred the pot, demanding Ursula von der Leyen's resignation. The FPOE's EU rep, Gerald Hauser, said bluntly, "Ursula von der Leyen conducted backroom dealings with Pfizer and flouted EU law on transparency. Those who preach transparency but practice secrecy unbecomingly shouldn't serve as Commission President—von der Leyen needs to step down."
That's the skinny on the whole shebang. The EU General Court demanded the release of Ursula von der Leyen's texts with Pfizer's boss because the European Commission failed to provide a convincing explanation for withholding the messages and violated transparency rules [1][3][4].
Sources: 1. EU court orders release of von der Leyen's messages with Pfizer CEO 2. EU court orders release of von der Leyen's messages with Pfizer CEO 3. Court rules EU Commission breached transparency law in vaccine contract 4. The Insider's European Union Newsletter
- The EU General Court, following the case against Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, has ruled that the European Commission must release policy-and-legislation related text messages between Ursula von der Leyen and Bourla, as the Commission's withholding of these messages and potential violation of transparency rules has been deemed unjustified.
- The Freedom Party of Austria (FPOE) called for Ursula von der Leyen's resignation, with EU representative Gerald Hauser stating that von der Leyen conducted policy-and-legislation related backroom dealings with Pfizer, flouting EU law on transparency, and that those who preach transparency but practice secrecy should not serve as Commission President.
