Last week, one of the premier Bond villains in all of Europe, European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen, survived a no-confidence vote.
Dammit.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has survived a no-confidence motion in the European Parliament, avoiding the first-ever collapse of the EU’s executive body.
The motion, brought by Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea of the European Conservatives and Reformists group, was rejected by 360 votes against, 175 in favor, with 18 abstentions. Out of 720 MEPs, 553 took part in the vote. The motion would have required a two-thirds majority — 357 votes — to pass.
This was the first no-confidence attempt against a Commission president since 2014, when Jean-Claude Juncker survived a similar effort led by Eurosceptic lawmakers.
Throughout the week, MEPs from across the political spectrum voiced frustration with the Commission’s handling of various issues, including foreign policy in the Middle East, military aid to Ukraine, energy security, and migration. However, despite their grievances, many lawmakers ultimately lined up behind von der Leyen.
The impetus for the vote was tacitly something known as ‘Pfizer-Gate,’ where the European General Court had ‘criticized’ Von der Leyen for her skulduggery regarding messages between the CEO of Pfizer and herself during the pandemic. That was to main justification for the procedure, even though the EU head had been supremely irritating members for some time with her imperial edicts and intractable positions on green transitions, doing nothing to stem the tide of refugees and illegals flooding the continent, and threatening the countries who wanted to exercise some national sovereignty in dealing with their crisis in their own way.
…“No leader, including the President of the Commission, should stand above the law or values that unite our Union.
“As a lawyer, citizen, and Member of the European Parliament committed to legal accountability, I cannot ignore the European Court of Justice’s ruling that the Commission breached fundamental EU legal principles by withholding communications between President von der Leyen and Pfizer’s CEO.
Piperea used the Pfizergate court case as the main foundation of his motion.
Last month, the European General Court criticised von der Leyen for refusing to disclose text messages exchanged with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, confirming accusations of maladministration and document concealment concerning contracts worth a reported €35 billion.
“The court found the commission’s refusal legally unsound and lacking credible justification,” Piperea said. “These actions demonstrate a continued pattern of institutional over-reach, democratic disregard, and erosion of public trust in the Union’s governance.”
Those messages still have not been released.
There were also some substantial gripes about the proposed defense spending and accusations of interference in national elections (we covered some of those.)
…In a second argument, he accused her of “unlawful interference in national elections: The misuse of the Digital Services Act (DSA) by the Commission to interfere in elections in Member States such as Romania and Germany.”
He said this represented “a direct threat to national sovereignty and the integrity of democratic processes.”
Finally he also pointed at what he called “the misapplication of Article 122 TFEU for ‘Rearm Europe’”. Piperea said that the defence initiative constituted a serious abuse of its mandate.
“This Treaty article was never intended for long-term defence investments, and its use in this context undermines the legal foundations of EU policymaking.”
This last complaint was completely in line with an EP vote earlier this week, as just a few days ago, JURI, the Committee on Legal Affairs, has voted to pursue legal action against von der Leyen’s €150 billion defence fund SAFE.
Still, she managed to emerge retaining her presidency, but it has not been without cost, according to EU watchers.
Von der Leyen was warned she was on shaky ground during the debate on the motion, and only her longtime allies carried the day for her.
…“Who do you want to govern with?” Iratxe García, the Spanish MEP who leads the Socialists and Democrats, asked Von der Leyen during a debate on the censure motion this week. Patience for Weber siding with those further to his right when it suits him is wearing thin. “Respect your word, and if you betray it once again, the Socialists and Democrats will lead the resistance,” García told Von der Leyen.
The leader of Renew, French MEP Valérie Hayer, had much the same message for the commission president. “Don’t take anything for granted, put your own political house in order, get a grip, so that we can work together with you,” she said.
Far-right and hard-right parties gained ground in the European elections last year, winning about a quarter of the 720 seats in the parliament. At the time many insisted that, despite a growing wave of support for populist forces, the political centre had held.
One year into this parliament’s term, it is clear the populist right have a lot more influence over the EU legislative machine, thanks to their working relationship with Weber and the EPP.
It is a situation Von der Leyen’s centrist allies in Renew, the Greens, and the Socialists and Democrats may not be willing to tolerate indefinitely.
The rising populist movement in Europe is upsetting the applecart in ways the settled and secure center and its leftist partners never anticipated having to deal with.
They don’t like it, and particularly the hard Left, like the Greens, will not tolerate Von der Leyen’s having to accede to some populist positions even in the slightest.
They are so used to utter and complete influence, and in their arrogance, they do not realize those days are gone.
The populist movements are real and growing, and are found in every single country in the EU, no matter how those governments work to crush them.
They are stronger with every regional election, and they are coming for the status quo – the Macronistas. This vote was drawing first blood.
…Commenting on the vote, French MEP Fabrice Leggeri, previously head of the European border force Frontex, wrote, “Despite Pfizergate, despite the Green Deal, despite the authoritarian opacity of the Commission… This afternoon, the right, the left, and the Macronists saved Ursula von der Leyen either by voting against her or by abstaining. Ideology once again comes before the people!”
Hungarian MEP Andras László added, “The EPP, Socialists, Liberals, and Greens defend her after the court ruling on the Pfizergate corruption scandal. What makes matters worse for Europeans is that this coalition has led the EU into a dead-end street: migration crisis and rising crime, competitiveness crisis and green overregulation, high energy prices, and a cost-of-living crisis. Only the Patriots for Europe group calls for real change in Brussels.”
I think the clock is ticking for the Brahmins.
Read the full article here
