EU transparency rules in spotlight amid questions over missing text messages
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen relies on auto-deleting text messages, according to revelations by the Dutch investigative platform Follow the Money. The finding intensifies the criticism surrounding how Europe’s top official handles sensitive communications and public scrutiny.
In January 2024, French president Emmanuel Macron contacted Von der Leyen regarding a planned trade deal with the Mercosur countries in Latin America. He did so via the encrypted messaging app Signal. After Politico reported on this, Follow the Money filed a freedom-of-information request for the messages.
Internal security
It took the Commission more than a year and a half to confirm that its president had received Macron’s message, which had been deleted using the 'disappearing messages' feature on Signal.
Officials defended the practice as a precaution “to prevent possible major data leaks”, saying that it reflected internal security rules instructing staff to use the auto-delete function.
Although the measure lowers the risk of hacking, it also ensures that exchanges vanish beyond the reach of transparency law. The Commission admitted Von der Leyen and her chief of cabinet briefly considered Macron’s message before it disappeared, concluding it merely repeated France’s long-stated position.
Pfizergate
These disclosures echo the Pfizergate affair, in which Von der Leyen was criticised for failing to release correspondence with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during negotiations for a vaccine contract worth billions.
Earlier this year, the EU’s General Court ruled that the Commission had acted unlawfully in denying access to the records and in failing to provide a satisfactory explanation for their absence.
During the summer recess, the Commission informed The New York Times that Von der Leyen’s chief of staff had deemed the messages “not important” in 2021, after the initial access request, suggesting that they had subsequently been lost or destroyed.
Official records
In 2022, as EU bodies were increasingly relying on electronic communication for their day-to-day work, European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly urged the institutions to classify instant messages as official records.
She recommended that archiving should never be determined by the medium: whether sent as an email, a letter or a text message, it is the content that matters.
O'Reilly also called for systems to capture and store messages, clear guidance for staff, routine training and retention policies that apply equally to instant communication. She also called for proper handover procedures when officials leave office.
The EU is often criticised for its lack of transparency. Earlier this year, a coalition of European journalists published an open letter accusing the Commission of hindering access to information.
The letter highlighted chronic delays - often far beyond the legal 30-day deadline - in processing document requests. The journalists also criticised the new internal rules introduced at the start of Von der Leyen’s second term that restrict access to legal and regulatory files.
© PHOTO LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP
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