Christine Anderson, Member of the ESN Group, commented as follows:
“Today’s ruling by the EU General Court is a political earthquake in the affair surrounding the secret COVID-19 vaccine contracts. The European Commission violated the right to transparency by refusing access to text messages exchanged between Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the CEO of Pfizer. The court has now made it clear: the deletion of these messages was unlawful.
This deliberate disregard for legal and transparency obligations cannot go unpunished. Von der Leyen’s personal misconduct is emblematic of a broader institutional failure within the Commission. Both von der Leyen and the Commission must be held accountable. A parliamentary committee of inquiry must now be established – with real powers, including the authority to compel von der Leyen to testify under oath. Only such a process can ensure genuine and comprehensive accountability.
As early as 2023, the European Parliament’s COVID Committee sought to question the Commission President – but she refused to appear. That cannot and must not be the end of the matter.
Those who hold positions of responsibility must not be allowed to evade scrutiny. The EU must now prove that it has learned from this scandal – or it risks permanently losing the trust of its citizens.”
