23/04/2020 (Agence Europe) – The European Ombudsman wrote to Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel on Monday 20 April, asking them to ensure that all EU decisions related to COVID-19, including those carried out under accelerated or emergency procedures, are taken in the most transparent way possible. Emphasising that” tackling the pandemic successfully requires[...] more than ever, high levels of trust in public authorities” to foster citizens' voluntary cooperation, the Ombudsman is of the opinion that measures should be made public, should be explained and should be transparently and regularly reviewed in order to enable citizens to better understand the EU's action (and its limits), to counter scepticism and to combat disinformation. He also noted that “any lobbying of EU staff, including by video, needs to comply with the applicable EU transparency standards”. See the letter: https://bit.ly/3cFo8Sd (DG)