European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen survives no-confidence vote in parliament

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen survived a no-confidence vote in the European Parliament. The motion, brought by far-right politicians, accused her team of undermining trust in the EU through unlawful actions. However, the motion failed to secure the two-thirds majority needed to pass. Only 175 members supported it, while 360 voted against and 18 abstained.

Romanian nationalist Gheorghe Piperea, the lead sponsor of the motion, criticized the Commission's lack of transparency, including the refusal to disclose text messages between von der Leyen and the CEO of Pfizer during the Covid-19 pandemic. He raised concerns about opaque decision-making and the high cost of EU bureaucracy in areas like climate change.

During the debate, von der Leyen defended her pandemic management and vaccine distribution strategy, emphasizing equal access across the EU. While the censure motion was unlikely to succeed, it posed a political challenge as the Commission negotiated with the US to avoid tariffs on EU goods. This was the first no-confidence vote against a Commission president since 2014, when Jean-Claude Juncker faced a similar challenge and survived.

According to the source: RTE.ie.