Court confirms Commission contracts cannot be signed off behind closed doors

Today, the General Court of the EU has ruled that the Commission failed to uphold transparency rules around text messages with the CEO of Pfizer. Tilly Metz, Greens/EFA MEP who took the Commission to court over transparency around contracts, comments:    

“Today's ruling clearly demonstrates that transparency and democratic accountability must not be exercised behind closed doors in the European Union. If important decisions and deals are agreed behind closed doors it risks that commercial interests could take precedence over the public interest. We welcome that the court’s judgment clearly calls for the Commission to improve their transparency practices.    

“Billions of euros in public money cannot be signed off over text message without any public scrutiny or accountability; particularly when it comes to multi-billion euro contracts and decisions with far-reaching consequences. Public contracts should go through proper contracting procedures and be open to scrutiny by journalists. This is a matter of public accountability and trust.”