EU Chief's Text Messages

Hi Global Recap readers,

Thank you for making your voice heard in the latest poll.

Most of you said you’re into the new format for its convenience, cleaner look, and better readability. I also carefully read the feedback from those who preferred the usual style.

A few comments stood out:

• One person suggested keeping the old format but adding an “Others” section for smaller news items. Brilliant idea. I hadn’t thought of that, and I’ll be playing around with how to work it in.

• Another mentioned they don’t want to click out of the newsletter to get more info. That was actually one of the main reasons I went with longer posts in the first place. But over time, the standard for “enough information” started creeping up until it sometimes felt bloated.

🙏 Again, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’ll take some time over the weekend to think it through and find the right balance. I’ll circle back once I’ve had a chance to sit with it a bit, so expect some tweaks next week!

🌐 WORLD
Fast Scroll News

🇷🇺 Putin Skips Ukraine Talks. Russia’s sending a delegation to the Ukraine peace talks in Turkey—but not Putin. Instead, his aide Vladimir Medinsky will lead the team. Zelenskyy had pushed for a face-to-face with Putin, but the Kremlin basically ghosted him. Trump isn’t showing up either, though top diplomat Marco Rubio is nearby for NATO meetings. Zelenskyy previously said that he won’t take part unless Putin does too.

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🇮🇳 India Blocks Chinese Media. India just blocked a bunch of X accounts tied to Chinese state media, like Xinhua and Global Times, in addition to Turkey’s TRT World. This comes after a flood of so-called “fake news” around recent military tensions with Pakistan. At one point, India’s embassy even struck back at Global Times for spreading a claim (attributed to Xinhua) that Pakistan shot down another Indian fighter jet. Since the Kashmir attack, India ordered X to take down about 8,000 accounts.

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🇨🇳 Colombia Joins Belt & Road. China and Colombia just signed a Belt and Road deal in Beijing. Presidents Xi Jinping and Gustavo Petro agreed on plans to ramp up trade, investment, and infrastructure. Colombia’s foreign minister called it “the boldest step in decades,” saying it could shake up the country’s global ties. The deal also deepens China’s growing influence in Latin America, where it’s already Colombia’s second-biggest trading partner.

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🇧🇫 Al Qaeda Claims Attack. An Al Qaeda-linked group, JNIM, says it killed 60 soldiers in an attack on a military post in northern Burkina Faso — a region already shaken by instability since the latest coup. The group also claimed responsibility for four other recent attacks in Burkina and Mali. Witnesses say hundreds of militants stormed military posts, killing both soldiers and civilians. This comes as Burkina’s military faces accusations of massacring at least 130 civilians in March, according to a new Human Rights Watch report.

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🇪🇺 EUROPE
Court Challenges EU Chief

An EU court just ruled that text messages sent during COVID vaccine talks count as public records—a win for The New York Times, which had pushed for access.

The decision pushes back on the European Commission’s argument that the texts were too “short-lived” to be official.

Not anymore.

Dispute Begins

Back in 2023, The New York Times pushed hard to get access to texts exchanged between EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer’s CEO during the 2021 COVID vaccine talks.

This sparked a big debate about transparency.

• NYT’s request questioned why the commission claimed such messages weren’t worth preserving.

• The commission pushed back, calling the texts “short-lived” and not official documents.

Ruling Details

Fast-forward to May 2025: the General Court in Luxembourg made it clear that these texts must count as official documents.

• Judges insisted, “The Commission cannot merely state that it does not hold the requested documents but must provide credible explanations.”

• The ruling sided with the NYT, showing that transparency matters, especially during a major public deal.

Transparency Ahead

This decision means the EU will likely have to get stricter about saving and sharing important records, especially when the public interest is at stake.

• The ruling could set a significant legal precedent on how communication is documented and disclosed going forward.

• Although the commission might appeal, the decision is seen as a big win for democratic oversight.