{"id":132283,"date":"2025-05-14T19:16:36","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T19:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/european-justice-delivers-a-setback-to-ursula-von-der-leyen\/"},"modified":"2025-05-14T19:16:38","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T19:16:38","slug":"european-justice-delivers-a-setback-to-ursula-von-der-leyen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/european-justice-delivers-a-setback-to-ursula-von-der-leyen\/","title":{"rendered":"European justice delivers a setback to Ursula von der Leyen."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"\">\n<figure class=\"article__media\">\n        <picture class=\"article__media\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/img.lemde.fr\/2025\/05\/14\/0\/0\/4405\/2998\/556\/0\/75\/0\/8ffbeca_sirius-fs-upload-1-u32bn7l3okz5-1747239700148-000-98l6v6.jpg 556w, https:\/\/img.lemde.fr\/2025\/05\/14\/0\/0\/4405\/2998\/600\/0\/75\/0\/8ffbeca_sirius-fs-upload-1-u32bn7l3okz5-1747239700148-000-98l6v6.jpg 600w, https:\/\/img.lemde.fr\/2025\/05\/14\/0\/0\/4405\/2998\/664\/0\/75\/0\/8ffbeca_sirius-fs-upload-1-u32bn7l3okz5-1747239700148-000-98l6v6.jpg 664w, https:\/\/img.lemde.fr\/2025\/05\/14\/0\/0\/4405\/2998\/700\/0\/75\/0\/8ffbeca_sirius-fs-upload-1-u32bn7l3okz5-1747239700148-000-98l6v6.jpg 700w, https:\/\/img.lemde.fr\/2025\/05\/14\/0\/0\/4405\/2998\/800\/0\/75\/0\/8ffbeca_sirius-fs-upload-1-u32bn7l3okz5-1747239700148-000-98l6v6.jpg 800w\" \nsizes=\"(min-width: 1024px) 556px, 100vw\" alt=\"La pr\u00e9sidente de la Commission europ\u00e9enne, Ursula von der Leyen, s\u2019entretient avec le PDG de Pfizer, Albert Bourla, lors d\u2019une visite \u00e0 l\u2019usine du groupe pharmaceutique am\u00e9ricain, \u00e0 Puurs (Belgique), le 23 avril 2021.\"\n                width=\"664\" height=\"443\"><br \/>\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.lemde.fr\/2025\/05\/14\/0\/0\/4405\/2998\/664\/0\/75\/0\/8ffbeca_sirius-fs-upload-1-u32bn7l3okz5-1747239700148-000-98l6v6.jpg\" \n                alt=\"The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, talks to the CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, during a visit to the factory of the American pharmaceutical group, in Puurs (Belgium), on April 23, 2021.\" \n                sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1024px) 556px, 100vw\" width=\"664\" height=\"443\"\/><br \/>\n            <\/source>\n        <\/picture>\n        <noscript><br \/>\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.lemde.fr\/2025\/05\/14\/0\/0\/4405\/2998\/664\/0\/75\/0\/8ffbeca_sirius-fs-upload-1-u32bn7l3okz5-1747239700148-000-98l6v6.jpg\" \n                alt=\"The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, talks to the CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, during a visit to the factory of the American pharmaceutical group, in Puurs (Belgium), on April 23, 2021.\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/noscript><figcaption class=\"article__legend\" aria-hidden=\"true\">The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, talks to the CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, during a visit to the factory of the American pharmaceutical group, in Puurs (Belgium), on April 23, 2021.<br \/>\n            <span class=\"article__credit\" aria-hidden=\"true\">John Thys\/AFP<\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Transparency Issues in Vaccine Negotiations<\/h2>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph\">On May 14, the <strong>Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)<\/strong> dealt a significant blow to the European Commission regarding its transparency, leading to what has now been dubbed &#8220;<strong>Pfizergate<\/strong>&#8221; in Brussels. The judges in Luxembourg recently <em>&#8220;granted the appeal&#8221;<\/em> of Matina Stevi, a journalist from the <strong>New York Times<\/strong>. Stevi sought access to text messages exchanged between <strong>Ursula von der Leyen<\/strong>, the President of the European Commission, and <strong>Albert Bourla<\/strong>, the CEO of Pfizer, during 2021.<\/p>\n<h2>The Background of the Case<\/h2>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph\">The appeal stems from November 2022, when Stevi was denied access to the messages. The court&#8217;s decision opens the door to greater scrutiny over negotiations that involved the Commission, which represents all <strong>27 EU member states<\/strong>, and the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. This particular deal culminated in <strong>May 2021<\/strong>, when the two parties signed a third contract for the procurement of <strong>1.8 billion doses<\/strong> of COVID-19 vaccines.<\/p>\n<h2>Significance of the Negotiation<\/h2>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph\">In April 2021, Albert Bourla made headlines when he revealed in an interview with the <strong>New York Times<\/strong> that his SMS communications with von der Leyen had established a foundation of <strong>&#8220;deep trust&#8221;<\/strong>. The significance of this relationship and how decisions affecting public health were made behind closed doors has sparked widespread concerns about the lack of transparency within the EU.<\/p>\n<h2>The EU\u2019s Response to Criticism<\/h2>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph\">Given the heightened scrutiny post-pandemic, there has been increasing pressure on the EU to be more transparent in its dealings, particularly when it comes to vaccine procurement. The lack of clarity surrounding negotiations raises essential questions not just about accountability but also about the ethical dimensions of such significant public health decisions.<\/p>\n<h2>Public Reaction and Implications<\/h2>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph\">Public opinion has been sharply divided. On one side, there are those who commend the Commission for securing timely vaccines, thus saving countless lives. On the other side, critics argue that such dealings should involve public scrutiny, ensuring that funds allocated to public health are being used effectively and transparently. The <strong>EU\u2019s credibility<\/strong> is on the line as citizens demand answers.<\/p>\n<h2>The Way Forward<\/h2>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph\">As the CJEU decision sparks further discussions, many are urging the EU to implement more robust transparency policies, particularly regarding contracts with private companies involving public health. Advocates believe that establishing clear guidelines and protocols can help restore trust between the EU institutions and the public.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph\">The implications of this court decision could resonate beyond the realm of vaccine negotiations. It will challenge the EU to reassess how it interacts with pharmaceutical companies, and potentially pave the way for a more transparent governance model in future public health crises.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph\">In light of the CJEU&#8217;s ruling, the time has come for the European Commission to face the music regarding its operational transparency and types of negotiations it engages in. As the world navigates through and learns from the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU must ensure it keeps public confidence intact by demonstrating accountability in its dealings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" rel=\"dofollow\">Breaking News General &#8211; 1<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, talks to the CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, during a visit to the factory of the American pharmaceutical group, in Puurs (Belgium), on April 23, 2021. John Thys\/AFP Transparency Issues in Vaccine Negotiations On May 14, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":132284,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[19063,7338,853,5159,10445,11917,23251,10444],"class_list":["post-132283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-delivers","tag-der","tag-european","tag-justice","tag-leyen","tag-setback","tag-ursula","tag-von"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}