15/02/2022 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 15 February, The Left group in the European Parliament expressed regret that some political groups in the Parliament refused to put on the agenda of the plenary session a debate on transparency in the bulk purchase of vaccines against Covid-19, in reaction to the SMS exchanged between the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the head of the Pfizer laboratory, Albert Bourla. “It is a matter of transparency, of democracy, of the management of our public funds, to know the content of these exchanges. (...) The strange deletion of the SMS speaks volumes”, said Frenchwoman Manon Aubry, pointing to the “strange 25% increase in the price of a dose” of the vaccine between two contracts. The Commission must respond to the European Ombudsman’s questions in this case (see EUROPE 12879/16) by 26 April. (MB/LM)