Mysterious secret texts, far-right deals, and an appetiser

Welcome to the newsletter of Follow the Money’s EU desk, with insights from our EU specialists, news from the Brussels bubble, and the latest on our investigations!

In this edition:

• Ursula, it’s time to tell us what happened to those texts
• Serafin clears things up: "OLAF is independent” (even if nobody asked)
• No deals with the far right… or so they said
• Is Europe’s development aid just money down the drain?
• When ‘good’ organisations aren’t so good after all

Ursula, it’s time to tell us what happened to those texts

In early 2021, at the peak of the Covid pandemic, Ursula von der Leyen reportedly sealed Europe’s largest vaccine deal with Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla – via text messages. But what did they say? Despite multiple requests, the Commission has kept those texts tightly under wraps. Dubbed “Pfizergate,” the scandal returns to the spotlight this week as the EU’s top court will press the Commission to reveal what happened to those texts – or if they still exist.

These texts between von der Leyen and Bourla, first reported by The New York Times , allegedly contain details about procuring 1.8 billion vaccine doses from Pfizer. When journalists and MEPs – including Follow the Money’s Alexander Fanta, who brought this case to public attention – requested access to these messages, the Commission refused, stating that text messages are “short-lived” and not typically preserved as official records.

This sparked speculation about what von der Leyen and Bourla had discussed. The order – to over four doses per EU citizen – also turned out to be overly ambitious. Did von der Leyen make a panic purchase while there was a huge vaccine shortage, for which Europe is now paying the price?

The resulting media attention sparked the Pfizergate controversy and prompted The New York Times and its former Brussels bureau chief Matina Stevis-Gridneff to file a lawsuit against the Commission in early 2023.?

This Friday, the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg will hear the case, which is expected to shed light on key exchanges in the EU’s Covid vaccine procurement. Beyond that, it’s a landmark case: the court’s 15 judges will determine if text messages count as “documents” under EU transparency law.

The ruling, expected early next year, could have a huge impact on EU transparency rules. If the court rules these texts are indeed documents, the Commission and other EU institutions may be required to systematically archive thousands of text messages, giving journalists greater access to communications from von der Leyen and other EU leaders.

Curious for more? Dive into our latest piece on Pfizergate, published this morning!

Alexander Fanta

Other stories from the EU bubble…

Serafin clears things up: “OLAF is independent” (even if nobody asked)

Tomorrow is the last day for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to grill the candidates to serve as EU Commissioners under Ursula von der Leyen’s second term. They kept the best for the end, as it will feature the six vice presidents with some of the most important portfolios.?

In last week’s newsletter, we suggested a few questions we think MEPs should ask these would-be commissioners. Stay tuned for next week’s newsletter, where we’ll recap their responses – or any evasions.

As an appetiser, we can already offer you an update on how Commissioner Piotr Serafin responded to our question about how he would ensure that the EU anti-fraud office OLAF,? which he will oversee, would operate in full independence from the political body he’s part of, the Commission.

“Both EPPO and OLAF are independent,” Serafin stated in response to a question by an MEP. The MEP hadn’t actually asked about their independence but rather about overlaps, information flow, and how to improve cooperation – yet it seems Serafin felt the need to make that statement.??

OLAF’s independence was recently called into question when it chose not to forward the results of an investigation into alleged corruption by a Commission official to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). The case confirmed Follow the Money’s findings in an article about the institutional tussle between EPPO and OLAF.?

Serafin, who was confirmed by MEPs soon after his hearing, highlighted the need for better cooperation between both institutions and the “need to invest in EPPO”. This last point seems at odds with the stance of his predecessor Johannes Hahn, who had proposed much less funding than what EPPO and Parliament requested.

Simon Van Dorpe

Our latest reads

No deals with the far right… or so they said

Before the elections, their promise was clear: no deals with the far right. But now? The Christian Democrats – who form the largest group in the European Parliament – keep eyeing that far-right corner for day-to-day alliances, backing away from their pre-election pledge.

Shared votes, controversial figures in top roles, ambiguous stance, … Follow the Money went digging to uncover how the EPP is quietly tearing down the cordon sanitaire against the far right.

Read the full story here .

Alistair Keepe and Lisanne van Vucht

Is Europe’s development aid just money down the drain?

Is development aid stuck in the past? Peter Hefele, policy director for the centre-right European People’s Party think tank, believes so. “We keep spending money, but we’re losing credibility,” he warns, arguing that Europe’s aid model no longer fits today’s world.

Europe spends billions on development aid every year – with questionable real impact, according to Hefele. In an interview with Follow the Money, he shares why it’s time for a rethink.?

Read the full interview here .

Emma du Chatinier

When ‘good’ organisations aren’t so good after all

“These organisations aren’t necessarily set up to be good.” Follow the Money spoke with international law expert Jan Klabbers, who believes it’s a mistake to assume international organisations are automatically a force for good.?

With years of experience, he has seen how these taxpayer-funded institutions often drift from their purpose – and, in some cases, are even set up to dodge accountability and democratic oversight.?

Read the full interview by here .

Salsabil Fayed