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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen came out swinging against a motion of censure from the far right of the European Parliament on Monday, though the dressing down she took from her would-be political partners is probably a bigger concern.
"It is taken right from the oldest playbook of extremists, polarizing society, eroding trust in democracy," the German center-right EU official told the floor, accusing the initiator, far-right parliamentarian Gheorghe Piperea, of making a huge distortion. The motion garnered some 75 signatures from within the 720-seat house, meeting the low threshold to be considered. Piperea has been a member of the EU parliament since July 2024, representing Romania's Alianta pentru Unirea Romanilor (AUR), part of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group.
"We can follow Mr Piperea down his world of conspiracies and alleged sinister plots… or we can clearly call this out for what it is: another crude attempt to drive a wedge between our institutions," she said.
Theoretically, the proposal, which hits out at, among other things, the long-standing transparency concerns over the negotiation of colossal EU contracts for Covid-19 vaccines, could see the bloc's most powerful official ejected from office at a crunch vote on Thursday, July 10. If the motion succeeds, Von der Leyen and the 26 other members of the European Commission would have to resign.
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That would plunge the EU into chaos, just as the EU executive branch seeks to end a trade war with Washington and grapples with bolstering future support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia's invasion.
But despite a raucous soundtrack of jeering from Piperea's supporters in the EU legislature in the French city of Strasbourg on Monday, von der Leyen appears at no real risk.
What's behind the motion?
Most political groups have openly refused to back the motion, which would require a two-thirds majority to pass. Even Piperea's own Eurosceptic European Conservatives and Reformists group appears divided. Group leader Nicola Procaccini distanced himself from the move on Monday, calling it a "mistake."
Piperea criticized von der Leyen for text messages exchanged with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the so-called Pfizergate scandal, a recent ruling by the EU General Court, found the European Commission's reasoning for denying a New York Times journalist access to those texts was unfounded.
On Monday, von der Leyen hit back: "Every single contract negotiated was examined in detail in the capitals before being signed by each of the 27 member states," she said. "There were no secrets, no hidden clauses, no obligation to buy for member states."
What did MEPs say?
It may have been Piperea who initiated the showdown, but the center-left groups — the Social Democrats, the Greens, and Liberal Renew Europe — used the occasion to air their grievances.
For months, lawmakers have been growing agitated at cooperation between von der Leyen's own European People's Party with traditional right-wing group and far-right members. For example, late last year, the EPP voted together with far-right members on a budgetary resolution concerning EU funding for border fences. In addition, the far-right has been raising concerns about EU grants awarded to civil society organizations. They also accuse her of backsliding on her landmark Green Deal climate goals, with a recent push to ease the bureaucratic burden associated with several laws and generally sidelining the entire institution of the parliament.
The vote of no confidence on Ursula von der Leyen in Strasbourg looks set to failImage: Ardan Fuessmann/IMAGO"This is one big political show of the far right, to undermine democracy, to undermine our Europe, to undermine European democracy," Greens chair Bas Eickhout said. "[But] you are feeding that beast, and at a certain moment, the beast will eat you."
Valerie Hayer of the Liberals told von der Leyen to "get a grip so that we can work together with you to achieve what we jointly wish to achieve."
European elections last year left von der Leyen with no clear majority, but she was narrowly reconfirmed for a second term in office after pitching to work with centrist pro-European parties.
What damage could the motion do to von der Leyen?
Motions of censure are certainly not unprecedented in the European Parliament. It is the only directly elected EU body, but also much less powerful than the European Commission and the European Council, which is composed of the 27 national leaders.
According to Sophia Russack of the Center for European Policy Studies, von der Leyen is very likely to emerge unscathed. "The last motion of censure was in 2014 with [former European Commission President Jean-Claude] Juncker," the expert on EU affairs told DW. "That didn't damage him at all. He sailed through."
Ursula von der Leyen's predecessor, Jean-Claude Juncker, survived a censure motion in 2014Image: Herbert Neubauer/APA/picturedesk/picture alliance The "crunch question" is just how much von der Leyen's EPP aligns itself with the far right going forward, Russack said.
Von der Leyen reached out to the political centre on Monday, "addressing all pro-European, pro-democracy forces in this house."
"I know that we do not agree on every detail of every proposal… and I cannot promise that we will always agree on everything in the future. But what I can promise is that we will always be ready to work for compromise and work for unity."
Edited by: Chrispin Mwakideu
