EU’s von der Leyen to face no confidence vote

[BRUSSELS] European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will face a no-confidence vote put forward by far-right MEPs on July 10 – although it is likely to fail.

The motion delivered to the European Parliament’s plenary session on Wednesday reached the minimum requirement of 72 signatures to set a date for the vote.

MEPs will debate the motion on Monday in Strasbourg ahead of the vote the following Thursday.

Initiating the move, far-right Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea criticised a lack of transparency from von der Leyen related to text message exchanges with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during the Covid pandemic, when the bloc was negotiating the purchase of vaccines.

Their exchange has spurred complaints from numerous anti-vaccine groups, as well as the New York Times, which sought access to the messages in question.

Piperea meanwhile also accused the European Commission of “interference” in Romania’s presidential election that saw nationalist George Simion lose to pro-European Nicusor Dan.

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Chances of von der Leyen losing the no confidence vote are slim.

Piperea’s own political group ECR has already distanced itself from the motion.

“It’s not an initiative of our group,” an ECR spokesperson said.

For the motion to succeed, it would require an absolute majority – at least 361 of the 720 votes. AFP