European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen faces two separate motions of no confidence: one tabled by The Left group and another by the hard-right “Patriots for Europe”. The European Parliament will debate both this afternoon in Strasbourg. Von der Leyen will take questions on the Commission’s trade policy, particularly the EU-US trade track, and on her stance regarding the war in Gaza and the broader Middle East.
As in July’s failed attempt to unseat her, von der Leyen will be flanked in the hemicycle by the full College of Commissioners. She is due to seek a vote of confidence from MEPs on Thursday, October 9.
What the motions say
Both motions were filed in early September. The Left’s text accuses von der Leyen and the Commission of an inadequate response to the Middle East crisis and denounces the EU-US and Mercosur trade deals as “disastrous”. Co-chair Manon Aubry (France) points to what she calls a “catastrophic record” barely a year into the new mandate.
The “Patriots for Europe” motion portrays the EU as “weaker than ever”, blaming the Commission President for failing to meet pressing challenges. PfE leader Jordan Bardella (France) is expected to focus his attack on trade policy during the debate.
Thursday’s vote
The vote is scheduled for Thursday, October 9. Both motions are widely expected to fail, with pro-European groups - the EPP, Socialists & Democrats, Liberals and Greens, rallying behind von der Leyen.
For any no-confidence motion to pass, it must secure a two-thirds majority and an absolute majority of Parliament’s members, at least 361 MEPs.
Although unlikely to succeed, the twin challenges reflect a shifting mood in Parliament after the far right’s gains in the June 2024 elections and again test the durability of the pro-EU majority. In early July, MEPs decisively rejected a separate censure attempt from the European Conservatives and Reformists, which accused von der Leyen of opacity over the so-called “Pfizergate” affair.
Source: CNN
