Overview
- The European Parliament will vote on Thursday on a no-confidence motion that needs a two-thirds majority to force von der Leyen’s 27-member Commission to resign.
- The motion was initiated by far-right Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea and accuses her of secret Pfizer text exchanges, misuse of EU funds and election interference.
- Von der Leyen dismissed the challenge at Monday’s Strasbourg debate as an extremist conspiracy designed to polarize EU politics and erode trust.
- Centrist parties, including the EPP, Socialists, Greens and Renew Europe, have publicly committed to voting against the censure motion.
- Though doomed to fail, the showdown has exposed strains over informal far-right alliances on migration and environmental policymaking, as well as broader transparency issues.