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European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is facing a no-confidence vote over a Covid-19 pandemic scandal that threatens to scupper her second-term policy agenda.
Far-right lawmakers in the European parliament claim they have secured sufficient support for their motion demanding the entire commission’s resignation after an EU court ruled against von der Leyen’s handling of private messages with the chief executive of a pharmaceuticals company.
While von der Leyen is likely to survive the vote, which could take place next month, it may force her to make more compromises both to the left and the right to secure their support.
Romanian far-right MEP Gheorghe Piperea told the Financial Times he would table the motion on Thursday after gathering more than the necessary 72 signatures.
“The initiative is fundamentally about upholding transparency and ensuring a fair and genuine democratic process,” he said.
While the threshold for triggering a no-confidence vote is low, toppling von der Leyen and her commission would require more than two-thirds of MEPs in attendance. The assembly counts 720 members and 401 voted for her to become president a year ago, though she has alienated some since.
Piperea claimed some members of von der Leyen’s own centre-right European People’s party (EPP) were backing his initiative. He acknowledged, however, that the chances for it to succeed were slim, but said it offered a “crucial opportunity for constructive and substantiated criticism towards president von der Leyen.
“It obliges the commission to address concerns and provide justifications.”
No-confidence votes are rare, but can have serious consequences. In 1999, Jacques Santer’s team resigned over fraud allegations and lack of transparency even after winning a vote of confidence. There have been just four since, none of them successful.
The Piperea motion is based on the so-called Pfizergate court case against von der Leyen, but also criticises her treatment of parliament. It is a complaint shared by centrists and leftwing MEPs who allege she often bypasses the bloc’s only directly elected institution and is too accommodating to EU governments.
The EU’s general court in May ruled against the commission in a battle over the publication of text messages between von der Leyen and Pfizer’s chief executive Albert Bourla during negotiations to supply Covid vaccines in 2021.
The New York Times brought the case after von der Leyen’s team refused to disclose the messages. The court rejected the commission’s argument that it could not find them and had “breached the principle of good administration”.
“The court found the commission’s refusal legally unsound and lacking credible justification,” Piperea said. “These actions demonstrate a continued pattern of institutional over-reach, democratic disregard, and erosion of public trust in the Union’s governance.”
Progressive MEPs opened up a fresh front last week when the commission said it intended to withdraw a law banning so-called greenwashing — unfounded environmental claims by companies — just days before parliament and member states were aiming to reach a final agreement on it.
The law has become the latest lightning rod for anti-green sentiment in the bloc pushed by von der Leyen’s own centre-right political group.
The Socialists, who are the second biggest faction in parliament, and liberal Renew, who are fifth, wrote a joint letter on Wednesday to parliament president Roberta Metsola asking her to raise the matter with von der Leyen and EU leaders at a summit on Thursday.
Parliament, they argued, needs “to be properly consulted in line with the principle of sincere co-operation” whenever a law is axed. “We also consider that the responsible commissioners should be summoned to the respective committees to explain their intentions.”
The Greens, who backed von der Leyen, have also attacked the move.
Some EU capitals have also expressed dissent, arguing that the last-minute withdrawal undermines the credibility of EU lawmaking, according to diplomats close to the talks.
Teresa Ribera, commission vice-president overseeing green issues, told the FT: “I hope that these messy days can be clarified as soon as possible and that we can reach a consensus.”
Separately, members of its legal committee on Wednesday voted to ask Metsola to sue the commission because it eluded parliament when it decided to issue more debt to fuel the bloc’s rearmament drive.
Piperea’s motion also mentions this alleged “procedural abuse”. He “calls on the European Commission to resign due to repeated failures to ensure transparency, persistent disregard for democratic oversight and the rule of law within the Union”.
A spokesperson for the parliament declined to comment.
Additional reporting by Barbara Moens in Brussels
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