Toh, Von Der Leyen canceled her text messages with Pfizer’s CEO
The transparency of the European Commission stops when it comes to relations with Pfizer and the companies that produce the vaccines.
Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly wants to learn more about the text messages from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen she exchanged with a head of a pharmaceutical company and which now appear to have been deleted.
In April, the New York Times reported that Von Der Leyen had exchanged calls and messages with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.
Too bad that, when a request for access to messages was made, the Commission said that it had not left any trace of them. Text messages, Berlaymont argued, are generally "short-lived" and in principle excluded from its recording, even when it relates to essential events such as the vaccine event.
The Commission's refusal to grant access to the texts prompted a complaint to the Ombudsman, who has now considered the matter.
The move comes at a time of growing debate in some EU capitals over the existence of sufficient accountability regarding the use of text messages by senior officials and politicians in carrying out official business. Von der Leyen herself was criticized in 2019 after revelations that a cell phone considered key evidence in a contract scandal at the German Defense Ministry had its memory completely zeroed. So this is a habit of German politics.
In a letter to the Commission President, released Friday, O'Reilly said it was "necessary" for his team of investigators to meet officials and get an explanation of the Commission's "policy on keeping text message logs and how this policy is implemented in practice. "
The Ombudsman said his team will also seek an explanation from the Commission on "whether, and if so, how and where, he looked for possible text messages that fit into the complainant's request."
O'Reilly has already launched a broader initiative on texts, announcing in June that it is examining how EU institutions and agencies record texts and instant messages, in order to have an ongoing and comprehensive account of the characters' negotiations. European audiences.
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The article Toh, Von Der Leyen canceled her SMS with Pfizer CEO comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/toh-la-von-der-leyen-ha-cancellato-i-suoi-sms-con-il-ceo-di-pfizer/ on Sat, 18 Sep 2021 06:00:41 +0000.