Ursula von der Leyen Survives EU No Confidence Vote

Brussels, July 10 (AP)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen successfully withstood a vote of no confidence on Thursday as a significant majority of European Union legislators dismissed a censure motion against her.

The motion included a range of accusations against von der Leyen, such as privately exchanging text messages with the CEO of Pfizer during the COVID-19 pandemic, misappropriating EU funds, and meddling in elections in Germany and Romania.

Despite these allegations, 360 lawmakers voted against the motion during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. Meanwhile, 175 supported the motion, and 18 abstained. Von der Leyen was not present for the vote.

The vote has sparked criticism of Von der Leyen — who spearheaded the EU's initiative to secure vaccines for approximately 450 million citizens during the pandemic — as well as her political group, the European People's Party, which remains the largest faction in the assembly.

They face accusations of aligning with the far right to further their agenda.

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