“This ruling is about more than transparency: it is about reinstating the institutional accountability the European Commission has been sorely lacking,” said Shari Hinds, policy lead on EU political integrity for NGO Transparency International.
So where does that leave doing politics by WhatsApp?
The case underscores a major gray zone in EU transparency rules: Are text messages official documents?
“Documents are any content, whatever its medium, concerning the policy of the European Union so from this point of view … it’s hard to argue that SMS messages are not documents,” Couronne said. “This ruling could encourage European elected representatives and civil servants to prefer oral exchanges to SMS. In today’s business communications ecosystem, the line between SMS, email, WhatsApp, Slack and the like has become very thin.”
The court didn’t say every text is a public record. But it did confirm that messages can fall under transparency laws if they concern official business. It’s a warning shot to EU institutions and all those who try to influence them: Digital messages aren’t automatically off the books, and you can’t totally avoid scrutiny by using them. In practice, it remains to be seen how far one can access any texts.
Are things going to heat up for von der Leyen?
Probably.
Critics from across the spectrum — especially the Greens and far right — have long kept the issue alive. But now mainstream political heavyweights are chiming in, calling the ruling a major embarrassment for the Commission.