diff --git a/MDErrorReporter.php b/MDErrorReporter.php
index eed645d..7f3045b 100644
--- a/MDErrorReporter.php
+++ b/MDErrorReporter.php
@@ -222,6 +222,13 @@ final class MDErrorReporter {
      */
     public function sendErrorReport(Throwable $exception, string $recipient, string $addDesc = ""):void {
 
+        // First, write the error to the general error log. This should happen first,
+        // so that it will also work if there is a problem retrieving GPG keys.
+
+        \error_log((string)$exception);
+
+        // Second, a mail is generated and sent.
+
         $subject = \get_class($exception) . ": " . $exception->getCode();
 
         $description = $addDesc;
@@ -238,8 +245,6 @@ final class MDErrorReporter {
             $additionalContextInfo
         );
 
-        \error_log((string)$exception);
-
     }
 
     /**