Reuters. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen survived a no-confidence vote in the European Parliament on Thursday (July 10), tabled by mainly far-right lawmakers who alleged she and her team undermined trust in the EU through unlawful actions.
As expected, the motion failed to get the two-thirds majority it needed to pass. Only 175 members of parliament backed the motion, while 360 voted against and 18 abstained.
Romanian nationalist Gheorghe Piperea, the lead sponsor of the motion, had 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.
It was the first time since 2014 that a Commission president has faced such a motion. Then President Jean-Claude Juncker also survived the vote.
