European Parliament rejects no-confidence vote in European Commission President von der Leyen
Kyiv • UNN
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen successfully survived a no-confidence vote initiated by the far-right in the European Parliament. 360 MEPs voted against the resolution, 175 voted for, allowing her to retain her position.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday survived a vote of no confidence in her leadership of the European Commission, UNN reports with reference to Politico.
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The majority of European Parliament members who voted on the resolution, introduced by the far-right, supported the head of the European Commission. If she had lost the vote, von der Leyen and other members of the European Commission would have been forced to resign, which could have provoked chaos in the EU.
360 MEPs voted against the resolution, 175 voted for, and 18 abstained. Out of 720 MEPs, 553 attended the vote. 357 votes were needed for the resolution to pass.
Despite the support of her own European People's Party, as well as the Socialists, Liberals from the "Renew" party, and the "Greens", many MEPs from these factions did not show up for the vote.
Although von der Leyen, "as expected, survived this and continues her work, her problems," the publication writes, "are far from over." The vote - the first such attempt to express a vote of no confidence since 2014 - indicates growing political opposition to the head of the European Commission, who, like most of Europe, seems to have shifted to the right, leading to a conflict with the two main parties that brought her to power, the publication notes.
Von der Leyen, as noted, "may have stood her ground, but political families from different political views used this procedure to express their grievances against the European Commission, be it issues of transparency and excessive centralization of power, the rejection of the "Green Deal" or accusations of violating EU institutional procedures."
This, reportedly, also shook the coalition of parties supporting von der Leyen's second term, amid growing disagreements between the Socialists and Liberals and the head of the European Commission.
Ahead of the vote, both factions threatened to abstain, due to their fears that the European Commission was shifting to the right, the publication writes.
However, the liberals backed down, stating that they did not want to participate in the far-right's "games" with Europe's stability, a Renew representative said.
The Socialists followed suit on Thursday evening, securing a concession from von der Leyen regarding the long-term EU budget, which the European Commission is to present next week.
The head of the European Commission promised the center-left to keep the European Social Fund, designed to combat poverty and support vulnerable groups, in the budget, despite previous indications that it would be abolished.
Von der Leyen should prepare for "several" new attempts to express no confidence in her, said Gheorghe Pipera, a Romanian MEP from the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) party, who introduced the resolution against her.
The European People's Party disagrees with this. "When we return from vacation, we will almost forget about it," predicted EPP Deputy Chairman Siegfried Mureșan.