Piperea also told POLITICO that von der Leyen should be prepared for “several” more censure efforts in the future, warning that Thursday’s vote may not be the last challenge to her authority.
STRASBOURG, France, July 10 (Xinhua) — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen survived a no-confidence vote in the European Parliament on Thursday, amid accusations of a lack of transparency in vaccine procurement and other concerns over her leadership.
The roll-call vote, held at noon in Strasbourg, ended with 360 votes against the motion, 175 in favor, and 18 abstentions, falling short of the two-thirds majority required for passage.
FROM PFIZER TEXTS TO ELECTION INTERFERENCE
The no-confidence motion marked the first no-confidence vote in the European Parliament since 2014 and brought to the forefront growing criticism of von der Leyen’s leadership style.
Romanian lawmaker Gheorghe Piperea initiated the motion, accusing von der Leyen of refusing to disclose text messages exchanged with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during negotiations for COVID-19 vaccine contracts in 2021, raising concerns about transparency.
Piperea also accused the European Commission of inefficiencies and potential misuse of funds, as well as interference in elections in member states such as Romania and Germany.
The motion garnered some support, including from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who publicly endorsed the motion on Wednesday, tweeting “Time to go” alongside a photo of von der Leyen on social media platform X.
Addressing the parliament earlier this week, von der Leyen defended the Commission’s pandemic decisions as being in Europe’s best interest, likening her contact with Pfizer to “seeking advice from the best epidemiologists and virologists in the world.”
“LAST CHANCE” FOR VON DER LEYEN
Despite surviving the vote, von der Leyen faces growing criticism from various parliamentary groups. Concerns have been raised about a rightward shift within von der Leyen’s center-right European People’s Party (EPP), aimed at advancing certain legislative agendas, including efforts to roll back green policies.
“Our vote today is not an endorsement of the direction of the Commission. It is undeniable that the Commission and its President are losing support in recent months,” the Greens/EFA group co-president Bas Eickhout said in a statement, calling on the Commission to stop rolling back the Green Deal.
Valerie Hayer, the president of the pro-business Renew Europe group, wrote on X that although they voted against the motion, their support for von der Leyen is not unconditional. She urged von der Leyen to take control of her political family to “put an end to alliances with the far-right.”
The centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the European Parliament’s second-largest political group, had previously threatened to abstain. However, after securing budget concessions from von der Leyen, they ultimately backed her in the vote.
Parliament Vice President Katarina Barley, of the S&D, said many lawmakers are determined that this will be the “absolute last chance” for von der Leyen, POLITICO Europe, a news outlet covering European Union politics, reported.
Piperea also told POLITICO that von der Leyen should be prepared for “several” more censure efforts in the future, warning that Thursday’s vote may not be the last challenge to her authority. ■
EU chief survives no-confidence vote as transparency, leadership concerns mount
