Ursula von der Leyen Faces No-Confidence Vote in European Parliament

The European Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen is set to face a no-confidence vote in the European Parliament next week. This vote follows a two-page motion that accuses the Commission of mismanagement and a lack of transparency regarding its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the motion to be debated and voted upon, it has garnered the support of at least 72 Members of Parliament (MEPs). Should the vote pass, it would necessitate the entire EU Commission to resign. However, such an outcome is deemed unlikely, as a two-thirds majority of the votes cast--equating to at least 361 votes, assuming full attendance--would be required for the motion to succeed. In the last election held in November, von der Leyen's Commission received 370 votes from a total of 688.

According to reports, EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola has informed the party leaders about the situation. Prior to this, it was confirmed that the no-confidence motion, initiated by a right-wing Romanian MEP, had received backing from at least one-tenth of the 720 MEPs, as stipulated by the rules.

This development represents a significant challenge for von der Leyen, a member of the European People's Party (EPP), particularly as her recent political initiatives have drawn criticism even from those within her own political circles. Notably, concerns have arisen over her plans for a substantial defense investment loan program, which she intended to introduce without parliamentary oversight--a point that is also mentioned in the no-confidence motion.

The motion's initiators, including Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea, have specifically accused the Commission of withholding information regarding text messages exchanged between von der Leyen and Pfizer's CEO during the pandemic. An EU court recently ruled that the Commission has not provided adequate legal justification for this lack of transparency. Furthermore, the motion highlights allegations that approximately four billion euros' worth of COVID-19 vaccines went unused, and that the Commission may have improperly influenced electoral laws in member states like Romania and Germany.

Manfred Weber, the leader of the EPP, has dismissed the no-confidence motion as a tactical maneuver lacking substance. History shows that such motions are rare; the last instance occurred in 2014 against former Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, which ultimately failed as only 101 MEPs voted in favor of it, while 461 opposed it, and 88 abstained. That motion was driven by revelations concerning tax advantages for multinational corporations operating in Luxembourg, which surfaced during Juncker's long tenure as the country's Prime Minister.

Only once has a no-confidence motion led to the resignation of an EU Commission, which occurred in 1999 when Jacques Santer's Commission resigned preemptively in response to a report detailing fraud and mismanagement.