EU chief survives confidence vote after censure motion

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen survived a no-confidence vote in the European Parliament on Thursday, amid accusations of a lack of transparency in vaccine procurement and other concerns over her leadership. The roll-call vote, held at noon in Strasbourg, ended with 360 votes against the motion, 175 in favor, and 18 abstentions, falling short of the two-thirds majority required for passage. The motion marked the first no-confidence vote in the European Parliament since 2014 and brought to the forefront growing criticism of von der Leyen's leadership style. Lawmakers in Strasbourg rejected the censure motion -- launched by the far-right over the European Commission president's handling of Covid vaccine contracts.

Romanian lawmaker Gheorghe Piperea initiated the motion, accusing von der Leyen of refusing to disclose text messages exchanged with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during negotiations for COVID-19 vaccine contracts in 2021, raising concerns about transparency.Piperea also accused the European Commission of inefficiencies and potential misuse of funds, as well as interference in elections in member states such as Romania and Germany.

The motion garnered some support, including from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who publicly endorsed the motion on Wednesday, tweeting "Time to go" alongside a photo of von der Leyen on social media platform X. Addressing the parliament earlier this week, von der Leyen defended the Commission's pandemic decisions as being in Europe's best interest, likening her contact with Pfizer to "seeking advice from the best epidemiologists and virologists in the world."

Despite surviving the vote, von der Leyen faces growing criticism from various parliamentary groups. Concerns have been raised about a rightward shift within von der Leyen's center-right European People's Party (EPP), aimed at advancing certain legislative agendas, including efforts to roll back green policies. "Our vote today is not an endorsement of the direction of the Commission. It is undeniable that the Commission and its President are losing support in recent months," the Greens/EFA group co-president Bas Eickhout said in a statement, calling on the Commission to stop rolling back the Green Deal.