Von der Leyen Survives No-Confidence Vote In EU Parliament

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen comfortably survived a no-confidence vote in the European Parliament on Thursday, as lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected a censure motion brought by far-right members.

The motion, which accused von der Leyen of misusing EU funds, interfering in national elections in Germany and Romania, and exchanging private messages with Pfizer’s CEO during the COVID-19 pandemic, was defeated by a wide margin, 360 votes against, 175 in favor, and 18 abstentions. Von der Leyen was not present during the vote.

The attempt to oust the Commission chief marked the first such censure motion in over a decade and became a flashpoint for growing tensions between mainstream EU parties and far-right factions. The European People’s Party (EPP), which von der Leyen leads, came under fire for alleged cooperation with the hard right in parliamentary dealings.

Greens group president Terry Reintke dismissed the vote as a "PR stunt from Putin-loving populists," but criticized the EPP’s broader strategy. “We won’t vote with the far-right and we do not support this motion,” she said. “We are ready to build pro-European majorities, but we will not be played by the EPP in their desperate deregulation agenda and their desire to consistently form anti-European majorities with the far-right.”

The EPP, the largest political group in the Parliament, has been accused of aligning with far-right parties to push through key decisions, including blocking the creation of an anti-corruption ethics body and influencing the approval process for new commissioners.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a longtime critic of von der Leyen, backed the motion on social media, calling it a "moment of truth" between "the imperial elite in Brussels" and “patriots and common sense.” Von der Leyen’s Commission has often clashed with Orbán’s nationalist government, particularly over democratic backsliding in Hungary. The EU has frozen billions in funding to Budapest over rule-of-law concerns.

The Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the Parliament’s second-largest group, also criticized the EPP for playing a “double game.” During a debate ahead of the vote, S&D leader Iratxe García Pérez challenged the EPP directly, “Do you want to govern with those who want to destroy Europe, or those of us who fight every day to build it?”

Despite the accusations and political divisions, von der Leyen retains strong backing from a majority in Parliament, reinforcing her leadership ahead of a new legislative cycle.