Overview

• Parliament will vote on two censure motions brought by hard-left and far-right groups accusing the Commission of poor transparency and flawed trade policy, but the challenges are widely expected to fail.
• EPP lawmakers are resisting the Commission’s proposed seven-year budget architecture that would pool farm subsidies and cohesion funds into national pots, warning of weaker regional oversight and less money for farmers.
• To defuse the budget standoff, commissioners Piotr Serafin, Christophe Hansen and Raffaele Fitto agreed to set up dedicated working groups with EPP MEPs Karlo Ressler, Herbert Dorfmann and Andrey Novakov.
• The EPP remains split over a 90% emissions-reduction target for 2040, with climate lead Peter Liese saying there is no majority for the goal and some members calling for a lower figure or scrapping it.
• EPP indecision has prompted plans to delay committee votes on the climate file until EU leaders meet on October 23, raising the risk the EU lacks an agreed 2040 position before COP30 in Brazil; von der Leyen previously survived a similar bid to unseat her in July.