The no-confidence vote against von der Leyen

von der Leyen survived no-confidence vote

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen survived a no-confidence vote in the European Parliament.

175 members voted to remove von der Leyen, while 360 ​​voted against and 18 abstained.

The vote was pushed forward by the far right and was about how von der Leyen handled the contract with Pfizer for the Covid vaccine.

Criticism of von der Leyen has also been about lowered climate ambitions and how EU funds are distributed. In the end, both social democrats and liberals chose to support her, despite previous criticism.

Von der Leyen's concessions in the face of no-confidence vote

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen faces a no-confidence vote in the European Parliament today. Everything points to von der Leyen surviving, but the vote reveals cracks.

The no-confidence vote was initiated by far-right Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea over von der Leyen's reluctance to make public text messages with Pfizer during the Covid pandemic. However, dissatisfaction with von der Leyen's leadership is not limited to the far right.

In an attempt to appease critics, von der Leyen has promised that EU regional payments will continue to go directly to local authorities and not via national governments, according to Politico. It is a change of course from von der Leyen, who previously pushed for funds to be directed more centrally. which could make it harder for autocratic leaders such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to stop funds for political rivals.