EU Lawmakers Troll Von der Leyen with Phone Upgrade Proposal
EU lawmakers have taken a humorous approach to address concerns over Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s alleged mishandling of official communications. A group of European Parliament members has mockingly proposed funding a new phone for von der Leyen, suggesting that her previous loss of hundreds of messages related to significant deals, including a 35 billion euro vaccine contract with Pfizer, necessitates a device with greater storage capacity.
The proposal, described as ‘trolling,’ has been co-signed by 57 MEPs, mainly from right-wing parties. Von der Leyen’s administration has faced scrutiny over her handling of communications, including the loss of messages related to critical decisions like a seven-hundred-million euro defense contract during her tenure as German defense minister and her alleged failure to block a trade deal with the South American Mercosur bloc.
The European Ombudswoman, Teresa Anjinho, has initiated an investigation into these communications failures. Additionally, the EU Court of Justice has previously ruled that official communications from personal devices must be properly archived, prompting the EU to review its protocols in response to the situation.
Lawmakers led by German MEP Christine Anderson and Sweden’s Charlie Weimers have called for adequate funding to provide von der Leyen with a mobile phone with sufficient storage capacity and appropriate IT support to ensure all messages are preserved without exception. The amendment has been co-signed by 57 MEPs, mainly from right-wing parties, as described by Politico.
The Commission maintains that the messages in question were deleted due to storage limitations, as the text was sent via the Signal app. The EU’s Court of Justice has already ruled that there must be proper archiving of official communications held on personal devices, with the body vowing to review its protocols in response to the situation.