EditEU’s von der Leyen confronts new no-confidence challenges
The Commission President dismissed the motions as part of a broader disinformation campaign aimed at dividing Europe
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen faced bids to remove her for the second time in three months when hard-right and left groups in the European Parliament presented no-confidence motions on Monday (6 October).
Although the motions of censure have almost no chance of reaching the two-thirds majority required to unseat von der Leyen in votes on Thursday, they could expose more general disquiet over her leadership and destabilise the EU assembly, whose backing is required to pass legislation.
The motions were proposed on Monday by France’s far right and hard left—Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally, and Manon Aubry of France Unbowed, who repeatedly said it was time for von der Leyen to leave.
During the plenary debate in Strasbourg, Bardella assailed the Commission for its handling of irregular migration and its “out-of-control” regulatory agenda, declaring, “Europe is once again the world champion of red tape.”
He also framed the vote as “a vote against the Europe of Macron, the Europe of von der Leyen,” accusing her of leading French farmers to their first trade deficit in half a century and signing Europe’s “surrender” through agreements with the US and Mercosur.
Aubry, co-chair of The Left, accused von der Leyen of conspiring with the extreme right and standing idly by the “genocide” in the Gaza Strip, stating, “You have been accompanying the genocide in Gaza.”
She further insisted that von der Leyen “has refused to take strong sanctions against the genocide in Gaza” and forced through “destructive trade deals such as Mercosur without a democratic mandate,” adding, “Her time is over. She needs to go.”
Von der Leyen, with her team of commissioners behind her, told lawmakers the world was in its most precarious and perilous state in decades, pointing to incursions into EU airspace linked to Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin blaming Europe for his war in Ukraine.
“He is not hiding his glee and support for all of his obedient friends in Europe who are doing his work for him… This is a trap and we simply cannot fall for it,” she said.
Addressing the attacks against her, von der Leyen dismissed the motions as part of a broader disinformation campaign aimed at dividing Europe, warning that “rivals are not only ready to exploit divisions but are actively stoking them.”
She emphasized the need for unity, noting, “The point I am making is that we need to focus on what really matters, which is to deliver for Europeans,” while acknowledging concerns on trade and Gaza as stemming from “genuine and legitimate concern.”
For von der Leyen this is not a new experience, having survived a no-confidence motion from mainly far-right lawmakers in July, where she similarly slammed her accusers as relying on disinformation supported by “puppet masters in Russia or elsewhere.”
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However, parties outside the mainstream have realised that previously seldom-used censure motions are easy to trigger after the 2024 elections swelled the far right to more than 100 lawmakers, with only 72 required to back one.
The two censure motions differ: the right’s complaining about “misguided” green policies and a failure to address illegal migration, while the left’s highlights the EU’s inaction over Gaza.
However, both sides agree that von der Leyen accepted an unbalanced tariff deal with the United States and that the Commission’s proposed EU-Mercosur trade deal is a threat to farmers and the environment.
Both the U.S. tariff deal and the Mercosur deal will be put to votes in the European Parliament in the coming months, with the outcomes unclear.
Centrist allies like the Socialists and Democrats’ Iratxe García warned von der Leyen that support is “not unconditional,” urging her to avoid alliances with extremes, while liberals from Renew echoed that little progress has been made since July.
With Reuters, edited by g.g.
Caption: Head of the far-right group Patriots for Europe (PfE) Jordan Bardella (L) speaks during the plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 6 October 2025. The plenary session, which runs from 6 to 9 October, is set to discuss two motions of censure tabled by the far-right ‘Patriots for Europe’ (PfE) group and ‘The Left’ against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. EPA/CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON
Updated: October 7, 2025 - 06:23
