Two motions of no confidence against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have failed in the European Parliament. Neither the motion brought by the far right nor the motion brought by the left came close to securing the necessary two-thirds majority in Strasbourg on Thursday. This means that the Commission President has survived three motions of no confidence within three months.
The reasons given for the motion of censure were the text messages that von der Leyen had exchanged with the CEO of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as alleged EU interference in the presidential election in Romania and the EU funding program for defence spending.
The motion from the left was approved by 133 members of parliament. The second motion, led by the far-right Patriots for Europe (PfE) faction, received 179 votes. In both cases, 360 votes would have been necessary. The PfE group includes the right-wing populist French party Rassemblement National (RN) and the right-wing nationalist Hungarian ruling party Fidesz.
After the vote, von der Leyen said she was “very grateful for the strong support” of the Parliament. The Commission will “continue to work closely with the European Parliament,” she wrote on the online service Bluesky.
In July, the EU Parliament rejected a motion of no confidence against von der Leyen. It had been tabled by the right-wing extremist Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group. The examination of three motions of no confidence within a few months is unprecedented in the history of the EU Parliament.
To date, no European Commission has ever been overthrown by a motion of censure. In 1999, however, the Commission of the then President Jacques Santer pre-empted a possible vote of no confidence and resigned.
From breaking news to thought-provoking opinion pieces, our newsletter keeps you informed & engaged.
