By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
BRUSSELS/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – The president of the European Union’s executive European Commission has survived a no-confidence vote, but the motion of censure left questions over legislative support for her agenda, ranging from climate initiatives to the rearming of Europe.
If Ursula von der Leyen had lost the vote, the entire Commission would have been required to resign under EU rules.
Yet the motion failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to pass, with only 175 members of Parliament backing it, while 360 voted against and 18 abstained.
Romanian nationalist Gheorghe Piperea, the lead sponsor of the motion, criticized, among other things, the Commission’s refusal to disclose text messages between von der Leyen and the chief executive of vaccine maker Pfizer during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The decision-making has become opaque and discretionary, and raises fears of abuse and corruption. The cost of obsessive bureaucracy of the European Union, such as [efforts to tackle] climate change, has been a huge one,” Piperea told Parliament on Monday.
During the debate on her leadership, von der Leyen defended her record, rejecting criticism of her management of the pandemic and asserting that her approach ensured equal vaccine access across the EU.
Although the censure motion had little chance of success, it was a political headache for von der Leyen as her Commission negotiates with U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s administration to try to prevent steep U.S. tariffs on EU goods.
It was the first time since 2014 that a Commission president faced such a motion. Then-President Jean-Claude Juncker also survived the vote.
The Socialists and Democrats voted against the no-confidence motion in exchange for a pledge on the next long-term budget — a promise that will be tested next week when the Commission’s proposal is due to be published.
The right-wing groups Patriots for Europe — inspired by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — and Europe of Sovereign Nations, along with many members of the European Conservatives and Reformists and a few delegations from the Left, voted to censure her.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Israel expanded its military campaign against Hezbollah on Monday, striking more than 70 targets across Lebanon as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to increase pressure on the Iranian-backed terror group following a sharp rise in drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel.
A federal appeals court is weighing whether Kansas City can use its public accommodation ordinance to require Christian counselors to counsel gay married couples despite the counselors’ biblical convictions on marriage and sexuality.
Tens of thousands of evangelical Christians gathered in the Netherlands for one of Europe’s largest multi-day Christian events, with organizers and participants expressing hopes for spiritual revival in the nation and across Europe.
President Donald Trump pushed back Monday against sharp criticism from Republicans and former administration officials over a potential U.S.-Iran agreement, insisting that any final accord must prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon or it will not be signed.
President Donald Trump said Monday that countries involved in negotiations over Iran should be required to join the Abraham Accords, signaling that the White House is seeking to turn a possible Iran agreement into a wider regional realignment that includes normalization with Israel.
Tensions remained high in Serbia’s capital Belgrade on Sunday after at least tens of thousands of people demanded elections and rallied against what they view as the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Aleksandar Vučić, with violence erupting after the protest and more than 20 people arrested.
Investigations were ongoing Sunday into the killing of three senior Kuki-Thadou Christian church leaders by unidentified gunmen in India’s northeastern Manipur State, Christian investigators told Worthy News.