SMS ruling: Court rebukes Commission sec • Table.Briefings

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has suffered a defeat before the EU General Court in Luxembourg. The ruling can still be appealed at the European Court of Justice.

The New York Times has won its legal battle with the European Commission over text messages from the COVID crisis. In principle, all documents from EU institutions must be accessible, the court ruled. Exceptions must be well justified – the Commission now plans to revise its approach.

The European Commission cannot dismiss requests for access to documents without providing a solid justification. That was the ruling of the EU General Court in Luxembourg, after The New York Times sued for the release of several text messages sent by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the height of the COVID-19 crisis. At the time, von der Leyen had communicated via SMS with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla regarding vaccine procurement.

SMS ruling: Court rebukes Commission secrecy.

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