Overview

• The European Parliament voted 360 against, 175 in favor and 18 abstentions to reject the no-confidence bid.
• Far-right MEP Gheorghe Piperea initiated the motion over alleged secret negotiations with Pfizer’s CEO during the pandemic, in a controversy dubbed “Pfizergate.”
• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán supported the challenge, accusing von der Leyen of corruption, illegal migration advocacy and a “senseless green ideology.”
• Von der Leyen denounced the motion as an extremist tactic designed to fracture EU institutions and claimed it was backed by “puppeteers in Russia and elsewhere.”
• The European People’s Party and allied centrists mobilized their MEPs to defend the commission president and safeguard EU cohesion.