Motion of no confidence in the European Commission

The attempt to oust the Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen hit a wall - only 175 MEPs out of 720 voted in favour of the motion, well below the required two-thirds majority. According to most MEPs, it was not a credible proposal, although criticism of the Commission itself remains on the table.

The proposal was based on a series of accusations: MEPs pointed in particular to the scandal surrounding the purchase of covid vaccines. The Commission has long refused to release text messages exchanged between President von der Leyen and the head of Pfizer in 2021. The European Court of Justice ruled earlier this year that the Commission had not acted lawfully in keeping the messages secret.

Critics have also pointed out that over €4 billion of the €35 billion the EU has allocated for the purchase of vaccines has gone unused. They therefore question the Commission's financial oversight and warn of a possible waste of public funds.

Another point of contention was the proposal for a defence fund worth EUR 150 billion (SAFE), which the Commission proposed using the emergency article of EU law.

Finally, the most serious accusation was the Commission's alleged interference in the elections in Romania and Germany through the new Digital Services Act. According to the complainants, the law was misused to restrict election campaigning and interfere with the results, thereby exceeding the Commission's competence.

Although the motion of no confidence clearly did not pass, the debate in Parliament showed that the issue of transparency and trust in European institutions remains a sensitive topic.