EU chief survives confidence votes in fractious parliament

Ursula von der Leyen survived two confidence votes in the European Parliament, highlighting "strong support" despite tensions. Photo / Fredereick Florin, AFP

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen has survived two confidence votes in the European Parliament – touting “strong support” from the assembly despite the tensions laid bare by the challenge.

The motions of censure against the European Commission president were brought by the hard-left and far-right, which accuse her of a lack of transparency and reject her trade policies.

Neither motion secured the minimum 361 out of 720 votes. The challenge brought by the far-right Patriots won support from 179 lawmakers. The one mounted by The Left got 133 votes.

But the challenges reflected mounting discontent with von der Leyen’s leadership and tested the cohesion of the coalition led by her conservative European People’s Party (EPP).

Von der Leyen held up the results as evidence of continuing faith in her team, given a wide majority of the assembly had rejected the confidence motions.

“I deeply appreciate the strong support received today,” the EU chief wrote on X, vowing her “commission will keep working closely with the European Parliament to tackle Europe’s challenges”.

In the case of the Patriots’ motion, 378 lawmakers voted against and 37 abstained, while an even higher number – 383 – voted against the motion by the Left, with 78 abstentions.

Deja-vu

Von der Leyen had survived a previous far-right attempt to unseat her in July, by a slightly slimmer majority.

In both cases, the votes opened the door for allies in von der Leyen’s so-called pro-European camp to air their own grievances.

Critics from the left and centre accuse von der Leyen – and the broader conservative camp – of blurring lines with the far-right and backtracking on environmental legislation.

During a heated debate this week the centrist leader Valerie Hayer warned von der Leyen “the pro-European majority that elected you is still not functioning properly”.

Iratxe Garcia Perez of the Socialists and Democrats warned that she needed to “choose between your allies and those who are not our friends”.

Conciliatory

Hard-left France Unbowed lawmaker Manon Aubry and far-right Patriots group chief Jordan Bardella had both called on von der Leyen to stand down.

But neither the socialist nor centrist blocs broke ranks with the Commission chief, despite the frustrations expressed during the debate.

The EPP, for its part, swung firmly behind her.

Addressing lawmakers, von der Leyen had offered a more conciliatory tone than in July, when she dismissed the censure motion’s backers as “extremists” and admirers of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Commission President defended her record and called for unity, stressing the challenges the bloc faces – chief among them the war in Ukraine and the broader threat from Russia.

“The truth is that our adversaries are not only ready to exploit any divisions – they are actively inciting those divisions in the first place,” she said.

The European Parliament has never succeeded in toppling a commission team.

The only comparable moment dates from March 1999, when the commission led by Luxembourg’s Jacques Santer resigned en masse over damning corruption claims and mismanagement rather than face a confidence vote it was set to lose.

-Agence France-Presse