The EU executive could not provide access to a text message from the French president to the Commission president, first revealed by POLITICO.
AI generated Text-to-speech
PARIS — The European Ombudsman has launched a probe into a text message sent by French President Emmanuel Macron to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last year asking that she block the EU-Mercosur trade deal, which was revealed by POLITICO.
“European Ombudswoman Teresa Anjinho decided to open an inquiry into how the European Commission handled an access to documents request for a text message its President received from the French President regarding trade negotiations with Mercosur countries,” the Ombudsman’s office wrote in a statement published on Tuesday.
In January 2024, POLITICO reported that Macron had privately texted von der Leyen in an attempt to derail a trade deal between the EU and the Mercosur group of Latin American countries, which was strongly opposed by the French government.
Follow the Money journalist Alexander Fanta requested access to the message, but the Commission replied it could not identify the text as “the ‘disappearing messages’ feature of the instant-messaging mobile application ‘Signal’ was activated on the phone on which the message had been received,” according to the Ombudsman.
The Commission referred POLITICO to its July response to the complainant, which argued that the message didn’t have to be registered as it reiterated as long-standing French position.
“The President of the Commission and her head of cabinet discussed this message shortly after it had been received. They considered that this message reiterated a well-established position already communicated by France to the Commission in the past in Council formations and also publicly made well-known,” the Commission wrote.
It’s not the first time von der Leyen’s handling of text messages has come under scrutiny. In May, an EU court found that the European Commission had been wrong to refuse access to von der Leyen’s text messages with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. In that case, the European Commission also reviewed the texts in question and allowed them to be lost.
The Ombudsman has asked the Commission for a meeting by mid-October to discuss Macron’s text and wants the EU executive to share documents showing the “steps taken by the Commission in dealing with the access request” by Oct. 1.
The message from Macron, a long-time opponent of the EU-Mercosur trade deal, was sent in January 2024 when France was facing massive farmer protests. The trade deal was ultimately sealed in December last year.
Macron’s office did not respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.
This article has been updated to add a comment from the Commission.
Increasing debt and five prime ministers in less than two years has Paris in a precarious position as Rome enjoys political stability.
The downgrade comes as France is going through a political crisis and is struggling to cut its massive public debt.
Sébastien Lecornu appears to want a clean break from François Bayrou, who was toppled Monday.
The 39-year-old armed forces minister will replace François Bayrou, who lost a confidence vote on Monday over his spending plans.

source