How the far-right tried to decapitate the European Commission and why more attempts will follow

12.07.2025, 02:19 eurointegration.com.ua

On 10 July, the European Parliament held a vote of no confidence in the European Commission and its president.

This vote, initiated by far-right forces, predictably ended in a victory for the current EU leadership.

However, in the new political season beginning in September, after the summer holidays of European politicians, another vote of no confidence in the Commission is expected – and not necessarily just one.

Read more about how the far right tried to remove Ursula von der Leyen and what made this attempt unique in the article by Tetiana Vysotska, a European Pravda reporter (from Strasbourg): Attack on Ursula: How the first attempt by ‘Putin’s friends’ to decapitate the EU ended.

175 MEPs voted for the dismissal of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her team, 360 voted against, and 18 abstained.

To pass, the vote would have needed just over 360 votes in favour.

In the end, the far-right bloc gathered around 50% of the required number of votes on 10 July.

Still, the initiators expressed satisfaction with the result.

They have now created a precedent for future attacks on the EU leadership and future stress tests for both the Commission and the pro-European majority coalition in the European Parliament.

The formal reason for the no-confidence motion was von der Leyen’s refusal to disclose private SMS correspondence with the CEO of Pfizer in 2021, just prior to signing a multibillion-euro contract to procure COVID-19 vaccines.

In the hallways of Brussels and Strasbourg, no one even tried to hide that the allegations were simply a pretext for the right wing to "take a bite" out of Ursula and "flex their muscles."

"I’ve opened Pandora’s box," declared far-right Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea, announcing more motions against von der Leyen in the future.

All of von der Leyen’s predecessors at the helm of the European Commission have faced no-confidence motions, but none have ever seen such a high number of votes in favour of dismissal.

"We are witnessing dangerous threats from extremist parties that aim to polarise our societies through disinformation," von der Leyen commented during her address to the European Parliament.

According to her, the initiative was backed by movements fueled by conspiracy theories – "from anti-vaxxers to Putin apologists."

Indeed, of the 175 MEPs who voted against Ursula von der Leyen on 10 July, 160 represented far-right political groups.

And now the far right in the European Parliament is threatening to undermine the authority of the Commission again and again.

Especially since, hypothetically, more votes against von der Leyen could be added. For example, there have been reports of a recent conflict between the Commission president and the political group Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), which has 136 MEPs. The conflict appears to have been patched up – for now. But for how long?

Therefore, the upcoming political season, starting in September after the sacred August holidays for EU officials, is expected to be a turbulent one.

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