The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenhas achieved again the support of the European Parliament, who voted majority against the two motions of censure that the groups of the left and the extreme right had presented, just three months after the vote that the German surpassed last July.
The two motions of censure presented by the far-right Patriots for Europe (378 votes against, 179 in favor, and 37 abstentions) and of the Left group (383 votes against, 133 in favor, and 78 abstentions) have been rejected by the European Parliament. If you have moved forward, They would have taken the community executive ahead of them.
Von der Leyen He has saved the furniture again thanks to the support of popular, socialists, liberals and greens in the European Parliament. A fragile support because the president of the European Commission He doesn’t even fully convince his partners. But a backup was taken for granted. The German has been absent from the votesince he is in Brussels to participate in a forum with a dozen world leaders.
Call for unity
When a group of independent MEPs presented the first motion against his government in July, von der Leyen went on the attack. He accused the promoters of being “extremists” who promote “conspiracies.” He stated that his only objective was “polarize society” and “erode the trust in democracy” of European citizens.
Before the European Parliament last Monday, The president put aside the attacks, He ignored the criticism and, in his speech, called for unity. “We find ourselves in a period of maximum uncertainty and explosive volatility,” said von der Leyen, “I want to reaffirm my commitment to working with all of you to maintain that unity.”
For the president of the Commission, It’s not necessarily about agreeing on everything.but to work, with a broad vision, “around what we have in common to meet the Europeans in this dangerous world.” The speech was directed, not so much at those who promoted the motions, but rather at to those on whom their political stability depended.
“I know some of you still They are not clear how to vote at the end of this week,” von der Leyen acknowledged, adding that he considered legitimate concern with the situation in Gaza or Ukraine, relations with the United States, the cost of living or climate change. The president promised to work to “try to find the answers together”. For the German, it is “a common responsibility that we all have at this dangerous moment in our history.”
The criticisms
Behind the motions of censure were Patriots for Europe, the far-right group that leads the Marine Le Pen’s National Movement and where they also fight Viktor Orban’s Fidez or Santiago Abascal’s Vox. The other initiative came from the group of the leftwhere several members of Add or We Can.
The leader of the Patriots, the French Jordan Bardellaaccused von der Leyen of leading “a flight forward.” He criticized the trade agreement with the United States, which he described as “commercial surrender of Europe”, also what you consider a “sabotage” of the common agricultural policy, or the progress in enlargement in reference to the possible entry of Türkiye into the bloc, which has actually been blocked for years.
“Europa It is not an administration but a civilization and a civilization is not governed by rules but by the consent of the free people and the nations that form it,” said Bardella. He did it within the European Parliament, whose members, including him, are elected by universal suffrage in the twenty-seven countries that make up the bloc.
another french, Manon Aubry, defended the left’s motion. Aubry accused von der Leyen of being “complicit” in the genocide in Gaza “through cowardice and inaction”. Also of having “capitulated” to the president of the United States, Donald Trump, in commercial matters. Furthermore, he criticized the significant steps backwards that the Commission has taken in green policies.
“Their priority is deregulation, under the applause of the right and the extreme right in this chamber,” insisted Aubrey, who recalled that the Popular Party has found an alternative majority to the center on the right of the European Chamber. The Frenchwoman thus accused the Patriots of “hypocrites” for his motion of censure.
A half-hearted defense
Von der Leyen will remain at the head of the Commission thanks to the support of those who made her president for the second time just over a year ago. But his partners They do not support it from enthusiasm but from German-style resignation as the best possible alternative to chaos, in an increasingly complex world. They also do it demanding to see their priorities reflected in the work program that the Executive will present in the coming weeks.
The leader of the popular, Manfred Weberdescribed the motions of censure as “ridiculous”, claiming that it is a “serious” tool for the European Parliament. A last resort being used “as a simple propaganda tool.” Weber insisted that in “turbulent” times what Europe needs is “stability” and “work.”
For her part, the leader of the socialists, Iratxe García Pérezassured that Europe cannot afford the block that would be the fall of the Commission. But the Spanish woman took advantage of her speech to criticize that von der Leyen often leans on the far right that denies climate change or gender violence. “This is not the Europe we need. “It is the Europe we must defeat,” he warned.
The liberal Valerie Hayer accused the promoters of the motions of being “trolls” who only seek to feed their social networks. “We knew that we were not going to support this motion of censure, but That doesn’t mean everything is fine.”, Hayer warned von der Leyen, calling her to “wake up” due to the lack of concrete actions since the previous vote last July.
For her part, the co-leader of the greens, Terry Reintkecriticized that after a legislature with important advances in the fight against climate change and for social rights, “we now face a lack of clarity about Where is it really taking us?“The German also demanded clarity from von der Leyen about that direction in the work program that she will present in two weeks.
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