Wednesday's verdict concerns SMSs that were allegedly sent between von der Leyen and pharmaceutical giant Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla four years ago, during the hunt for a vaccine against covid-19.
The New York Times wrote about the conversations and later requested the SMS. However, the EU Commission claimed that they did not exist, as they were never deemed important enough to be saved.
Must Explain
The court does not believe that explanation holds.
"The Commission must... provide reasonable explanations that enable the public and the tribunal to understand why the documents could not be located," the court writes, among other things, in its press release.
In a first written comment, the Commission promises to "carefully study" the verdict and adopt a new decision "with a more detailed explanation".
We have simply not found any messages that can be considered documents, a spokesperson for the Commission said at a press conference on Monday.
Tarnishing the Reputation?
Even though it is the Commission that is being reprimanded and not von der Leyen personally, the incident – dubbed Pfizergate by critics – risks seriously tarnishing her reputation. The Commission President has already been criticized for not being as open as she claims to be.
Pfizergate is the most clear example of the constant discrepancy between how the President handles openness and her rhetoric. It has resulted in a culture where obstacles take precedence over accountability, says Nick Aiossa of the anti-corruption organization Transparency International Europe to the news site Politico Europe.
