Elisa Braun

1 month ago | politico.eu | Elisa Braun

BRUSSELS ― EU judges dealt the European Commission a stinging defeat — and transparency campaigners a major win. In a long-awaited ruling with huge political and legal implications, the EU’s General Court ruled against the Commission over its refusal to release text messages between Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla at the height of Covid-19 vaccine negotiations in 2021. Here’s what you need to know.

1 month ago | flipboard.com | Mari Eccles |Elisa Braun

NowThe case revolved around whether texts between a top E.U. official and a drug company executive counted as a public record that might need to be disclosed. In a judgment that could help to shape how transparent the European Union​ must be on matters of public interest, judges on Wednesday said the …

1 month ago | politico.eu | Mari Eccles |Elisa Braun

BRUSSELS ― The European Commission was wrong to refuse the release of Ursula von der Leyen’s text messages with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, an EU court has found. Reporters had asked to see the secret messages between the Commission president and the drug company boss, which they exchanged ahead of a multibillion euro vaccine deal agreed between Pfizer and the EU.

1 month ago | politico.eu | Elisa Braun

BRUSSELS — Are there any serious checks on the woman running the European Commission? That’s the real question that a long-awaited ruling by the EU’s General Court on Wednesday might go a small way to answering. The “Pfizergate” case has come to symbolize the institutional blind spots at the heart of the EU, and, in particular, around its most powerful official, Ursula von der Leyen.

1 month ago | politico.eu | Elisa Braun |Mari Eccles

BRUXELLES ― L’héritage d’Ursula von der Leyen en tant que présidente de la Commission européenne sera mis à rude épreuve cette semaine, lorsque la justice de l’UE se prononcera sur les SMS secrets qu’elle a échangés avec le patron d’un laboratoire pharmaceutique qui a conclu un contrat de plusieurs milliards d’euros avec Bruxelles pour l’achat de vaccins.