Overview

• The motion was tabled by Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea, who accuses von der Leyen of opaque dealings in pandemic vaccine negotiations after undisclosed messages with Pfizer’s CEO emerged.
• The July 10 vote in Strasbourg requires a two-thirds majority to succeed but is all but guaranteed to fail after the European People’s Party, Renew group and Socialists and Democrats pledged to oppose it.
• Von der Leyen rejected the challenge as a conspiracy-driven attempt to divide Europe and branded its supporters “anti-vaxxers” and “Putin apologists” in her parliamentary defence.
• Renew leader Valerie Hayer and other centrists have criticised the commission’s centralized decision-making and warned that nothing can be taken for granted.
• The ease of triggering a no-confidence motion with just 72 signatures highlights a newfound vulnerability in von der Leyen’s coalition and raises the spectre of future challenges.