The European Union's General Court has annulled a European Commission decision that denied a journalist from The New York Times daily access to text messages exchanged between Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and pharmaceutical company Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. The verdict marks a significant legal and political blow to the EU's executive arm, raising fresh doubts about von der Leyen's leadership style and her handling of transparency obligations.

"Von der Leyen has gathered more power than any other president before her, leading the Commission with a centralized and secretive approach — and this has clearly backfired," Olivier Hoedeman of Corporate Europe Observatory, a Brussel's based watchdog, told DW.

The controversial Pfizergate case involves messages that were reportedly exchanged during the EU's negotiation of a multibillion-euro COVID-19 vaccine contract with Pfizer during the coronavirus pandemic. The existence of the private communication was first hinted at in a 2021 interview, sparking widespread concern over opaque decision-making at the heart of the EU.

Later that year, New York Times journalist Matina Stevis-Gridneff submitted a request to access the messages, according to EU transparency laws, which the Commission rejected, claiming it did........

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