Demands to see European vaccine supply texts sent to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla

European Commission boss Ursula von der Leyen has been found guilty by the EU watchdog of “maladministration”.

European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has rebuked European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for failing to disclose text messages between herself and Pfizer CEO, Albert Bourla, in early 2020 regarding the pre-purchase of 1.8 billion COVID-19 jabs for countries in the EU.

A journalist for German outlet netzpolitik.org, Alexander Fanta, called for the texts as part of a freedom of information request, after they were reported in an interview with von der Leyen in the New York Times where she expressed that “personal diplomacy played a big part” in securing the vaccine doses.

On January 28, O’Reilly slammed the EU’s handling of the freedom of information request labelling it as “maladministration”. Picture: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

In the New York Times article published in April 2021, von der Leyen said that securing the 1.8 billion doses were a result of “personal diplomacy”. Picture: iStock/Getty Images

An inquiry spearheaded by O’Reilly found that the European Commission did not ask von der Leyen’s personal office to disclose the text messages or identify whether any texts existed – despite them being sought in Fanta’s freedom of information request.

Instead, the Commission asked von der Leyen’s office for material that fell within the Commission’s internal guidelines for recording “documents” which did not include text messages as they were considered “short-lived“ and “informal”.

In a statement issued on Friday, O’Reilly said that the way that the Commission handled the freedom of information request was “maladministration”.

“The narrow way in which this public access request was treated meant that no attempt was made to identify if any text messages existed”, said O’Reilly.

“This falls short of reasonable expectations of transparency and administrative standards in the Commission.”

She went on to say: “Not all text messages need to be recorded, but text messages clearly do fall under the EU transparency law and so relevant text messages should be recorded. It is not credible to claim otherwise.”

As a result of the EU watchdog’s investigation, the European Commission have been instructed by O’Reilly to undertake a further comprehensive search for the text messages.

She said: “When it comes to the right of public access to EU documents, it is the content of the document that matters and not the device or form. If text messages concern EU policies and decisions, they should be treated as EU documents. The EU administration needs to update its document recording practices to reflect this reality.”

The European Commission has until April 26 to search for text messages.

Source: news.com.au

Russia-Ukraine: US warns of 'false-flag' operation

Russia is plotting to stage acts of provocation to create a pretext to invade Ukraine, a US official has said.

A Pentagon spokesman said Russian operatives were planning a "false-flag" operation, to allow Moscow to accuse Ukraine of preparing an attack. Russia has dismissed the claims.

It comes after a week of US-Russian talks aimed at defusing tensions.

Ukraine on Friday accused Russia of being behind a cyber-attack on dozens of official websites.

Before the sites went offline, a message appeared warning Ukrainians to "prepare for the worst". Access to most of the sites was restored within hours.

The US and Nato condemned the attack and have offered support to Ukraine. Russia has not commented on the hack.

There are fears in Ukraine that Russia is planning an invasion

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday about what he said were Russia's plans.

"It has pre-positioned a group of operatives to conduct what we call a false-flag operation, an operation designed to look like an attack on them or Russian speaking people in Ukraine as an excuse to go in," he said.

The operatives were trained in urban warfare and using explosives to carry out acts of sabotage against pro-Russian rebels, US officials said.

Ukraine's Defence Ministry said similar acts were being prepared against Russian troops stationed in the breakaway Transdnistria region of Moldova.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded by describing the reports as unsubstantiated and "confirmed by nothing".

Dramatic move by the US

It is unusual for the US to go public with such specific intelligence determinations.

But the Biden administration has clearly decided to try to pre-empt any Russian claims of Ukrainian belligerence by exposing an alleged strategy of sabotage and disinformation.

The Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the US wanted the world to know how an invasion could play out, because this scenario was from the same playbook the Russians used in Crimea.

It's a dramatic move after a week of intense diplomacy that produced proposals but no agreement on how to resolve the crisis.

Mr Kirby said the administration still thinks there is time and space for diplomacy. And that it does not believe President Vladimir Putin has made a final decision about whether to further invade Ukraine.

The Russians deny they have any such intention. But the US is not staying quiet while it waits for Mr Putin's next move. And it has threatened financial sanctions and other consequences if he does push deeper into Ukraine

The US official's remarks follow an earlier statement by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who told reporters about intelligence that Russia was laying the groundwork to try to fabricate a pretext for invading Ukraine.

He said it was the same playbook Russia used when it occupied Crimea in 2014.

Russia has amassed weaponry along with tens of thousands of troops on the border with Ukraine, prompting invasion fears.

US and Russian officials have been in talks for the past week in an attempt to reduce tensions over Ukraine, but little agreement appears to have been reached.

Russia denies it is planning to invade Ukraine but is seeking guarantees against Nato's eastward expansion, something that Western countries say they are unable to give.

Source: BBC World

Danish spy chief detained over 'highly sensitive' leak

The head of Denmark’s defence intelligence service, Lars Findsen, has been placed in custody over the leak of highly classified information.

The chief of Denmark's Defence Intelligence Service (FE), Lars Findsen, has been held in custody for more than a month over an apparent leak, it was revealed on Monday.

Local media said the leak involved "highly sensitive" information. It follows allegations last year that Danish intelligence colluded with the US National Security Agency (NSA) to spy on European leaders and private Danish citizens.

Findsen was suspended in 2020 in a possible case of illegal spying on Danish citizens, but was cleared

What do we know so far?

The news only emerged at a hearing behind closed doors at Copenhagen Magistrate's Court, when a publication ban was lifted. Findsen's name was revealed at his own request.

It emerged that four current and former employees of the two Danish intelligence services — foreign and domestic — had been detained for leaking highly sensitive information.

Findsen was the only one of them to remain in custody as the investigation proceeds.

"I want the charges brought forward and I plead not guilty. This is completely insane," Findsen told reporters at the hearing.

Public broadcaster DR cited unnamed sources as saying the case related to the leaking of classified information to Danish media outlets.

In 2020, DR reported that the FE had shared raw information cable data with the NSA. As a result, it said, the NSA may have had access to Danish citizens' personal data and private communications.

Authorities have published very little information on the investigation, which is being conducted behind closed doors. The exact charges and the content of the leaked information has not been made public.

It was unclear how long Findsen will be kept in custody, although he was said to have been already detained for more than a month. The Danish public prosecutor's office has declined to comment on the case.

Denmark has two intelligence agencies, the Police Intelligence Service (PET) and the FE, focusing respectively on domestic and foreign intelligence.

Findsen, 52, headed PET from 2002 to 2007 and the FE from 2015 to 2020, when he was suspended over an internal report. The document criticized a possible case of illegal spying on Danish citizens, although Findsen was recently cleared by a commission.

Source: rc/rt (Reuters, dpa, EFE)