The European Ombudsman is investigating the European Commission's handling of a request for a text message from French President Emmanuel Macron to Ursula von der Leyen regarding the EU-Mercosur trade deal. The Commission stated that the message was deleted due to security guidelines and was not deemed significant enough to be archived. Journalist Alexander Fanta contested this decision, leading to a formal inquiry. The case is reminiscent of previous transparency issues involving von der Leyen's communications during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teljes cikk (Euronews.com)