On 14 May 2025, the General Court annulled a Commission’s decision denying access to text messages exchanged between the Commission President and Pfizer’s CEO during the Covid-19 crisis. The Stevi and New York Times v Commission judgment, better known as the Pfizergate, has received large public attention and has put the Commission under great political pressure, triggering a motion of censure by the European Parliament. This contribution analyses the legal and political relevance of the judgment against the background of the Court’s jurisprudence on transparency and access to documents and in the framework of the larger transparency (or untransparent) practices of the Commission. It argues that the case represents an interesting example of how legal accountability can trigger political accountability and highlights the crucial role of courts and private applicants in driving the debate on key issues for the Union’s democratic legitimacy.
Patrin, M.: “This is not a text message” – Access to documents and transparency after Stevi and New York Times v Commission. In: Il Blog di AISDUE, 8 October 2025