Faced with two new motions of censure on Monday 6 October, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, once again tried to win over those MEPs who are likely to withdraw their confidence in her. Three months after the European Parliament rejected an initial attempt at censure (see EUROPE 13678/1), Ms von der Leyen reiterated her call for unity among Europeans and positioned herself as the guarantor of stability in the face of external threats.
“Europe is on high alert”, warned the President, referring to “reckless airspace incursions” into European airspace, “attempts at economic coercion”, “ruthless attacks on Ukraine” and “direct threats to our own [EU] security”.
Ms von der Leyen reiterated a call for unity already made in her State of the Union speech at the beginning of September. “The point of this unity is not necessarily for us to agree on every detail. (...) But – perhaps more than ever before – it is about the bigger picture. About rallying around the things we do have in common to deliver results”, she maintained.
“Our adversaries are not only ready to exploit any divisions – they are actively inciting those divisions in the first place”, added the President, affirming her determination to seek greater cooperation with the European Parliament.
Read Ms von der Leyen’s speech: https://aeur.eu/f/it0
Arguments behind the motions of censure. As denounced in their motion, the ‘Patriots for Europe’ (PfE) have criticised the trade agreements signed at the end of July by the European Commission on behalf of the EU. “You’re handing everything to our competitors on a platter. Our factories, our jobs, our industry”, said Frenchman Jordan Bardella, who chairs the far-right group. In addition to the “financial drain”, the PfE leader denounced a “migration drain” and “ senseless enlargements”. “I would say this censorship brings us to a moment of truth”, he declared, addressing his counterparts in the EPP group and in particular his French delegation.
Instigator of another motion, The Left group denounced Ms von der Leyen’s “inaction” and “cowardice” regarding the crisis in Gaza. “How can you, the powerful people of this world, look at an entire people being decimated?” denounced its co-chair, Manon Aubry of France. She also criticised the trade agreements that had been negotiated with the United States and the free trade agreement with Mercosur.
‘von der Leyen’ majority holds firm. During the debate, the chairs of the political groups in the European Parliament that form the ‘von der Leyen’ majority made it clear that they would not support the motions of censure tabled by The Left and PfE groups.
On behalf of the EPP group, Germany’s Manfred Weber described these initiatives as “ridiculous”, explaining that they were being used as “propaganda tools” to serve the campaigns of Manon Aubry and Jordan Bardella in France, given that France’s short-lived Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, had resigned on Monday, after announcing the composition of his government only the day before.
The German Christian Democrat mocked The Left and PfE groups, advising them to form a joint group called ‘We are against’. “You are against everything”: the security of the continent, the fight against climate change, “you are united in your love of destruction”, he said accusingly.
“The motions are doomed to failure”, confirmed the chair of the S&D group, Iratxe García Pérez from Spain. In her view, the EU cannot now afford to be blocked at a time when Vladimir Putin is stepping up his war against Ukraine and launching incursions into the EU, and also when Donald Trump has declared a trade war against the EU.
Saying that she agreed with The Left group on the issue of the “genocide” in Gaza and the need to put an end to the “impunity” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ms García Pérez nevertheless criticised the radical left for having “given up on negotiation” to achieve change.
Speaking on behalf of the centre-right Renew Europe group, France’s Véronique Hayer described The Left and PfE groups as “engineers of chaos who want to destroy the EU from within”. She condemned the “hypocrisy and dishonesty of the two authors of the motions”, criticising both Jordan Bardella – who complained about Donald Trump when, according to her, he was his “number one supporter” – and Manon Aubry, who reminded her that the radical left had not voted in favour of the European Parliament resolution on Gaza even though MEPs were calling for sanctions against the Israeli government (see EUROPE 13707/1).
“Do we want to provoke an institutional crisis? What good will it do us to rename a European Commission with an identical political majority and something worse in the EU Council?”, asked Terry Reintke (Greens/EFA, German). We need to change political direction, of course, but with “the right instruments”, she added.
The sovereignist ECR group is not part of the ‘von der Leyen’ majority in the European Parliament. However, the EPP Group believes that it would be appropriate to work with certain delegations from the conservative group, in particular the Italian, Belgian and Czech delegations. Its chair, the Italian Nicola Procaccini, indicated that his political group would leave delegations free to vote on the motions, which will take place on Thursday. In his analysis of the two motions, he supported those elements of the PfE Group's motion that criticised the European Commission’s “lack of transparency” and reaffirmed national competences.
Open wounds. While there is no institutional crisis at the moment, the differences between the pro-European groups are far from being resolved. The Christian Democrats are still being accused by the other political forces of not rejecting ad hoc alliances with the conservatives and the far right, particularly when it comes to challenging the ‘European Green Deal’ and strengthening the EU’s migration policy.
The problem, according to Ms Reintke, is that “the EPP doesn't know where to look”, she said, expressing “a need for clarity on this issue”.
“The pro-European majority is still working just as badly”, said Ms Hayer, urging the ‘von der Leyen’ Commission to “invest” further in relations with the European Parliament. “In the EPP and S&D, don’t look to the extremes, look to the centre! That’s where it happens”, she said. And it’s about advocating “unity” to protect democracy in Europe and to boost economic competitiveness.
Ms García Pérez reiterated that the support of the Social Democrats is “not unconditional”. Instead, it will depend in particular on the European Commission’s “work programme for 2026”, she warned. This is because, in her view, “the Commission cannot rely on political forces that deny climate change or macho violence or want to restrict abortion “. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit & Mathieu Bion)