Where did the text messages disappear; Why are Ursula von der Leyen's messages automatically deleted?

According to the spokesperson, the reason is purely technical, writes Politico.

"Commission President von der Leyen's messages are automatically deleted after a while, purely for space reasons," Commission Spokesperson Olof Gill said yesterday, adding: "Otherwise the phone would have exploded."

This response followed a journalist's question about a text message from French President Emmanuel Macron, in which he asked von der Leyen to block the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.

FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP / Profimedia

After Politico reported on the 2024 message, the European Ombudsman confirmed this week that it had opened an investigation into the correspondence.

"In accordance with internal rules"

The Commission claims that von der Leyen acted in accordance with internal rules. Namely, the use of disappearing messages is recommended in the Commission's 2022 guidelines.

"On the one hand, it reduces the risk of information leaks and security breaches, which is of course an important factor," said Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvari. "There is also the issue of space on the phone – so efficient use of the mobile device."

"The president followed these internal guidelines and uses the disappearing messages option, which explains why we could not retrieve such SMSes," Ujvari said, but added:

"SMS may need to be registered under certain circumstances – for example, if there is a need for further action, if there is an administrative or legal impact."