European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen faces a potential no-confidence vote in the European Parliament due to allegations of lacking transparency and mismanagement regarding a contentious Covid-19 vaccine deal with Pfizer.
The motion, initiated by Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea, is set for debate on July 7 and a vote on July 10 during the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, according to Politico reports. The context of this controversy stems from von der Leyen’s refusal to disclose text messages exchanged with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during the 2021 negotiations over a multi-billion-euro contract for pandemic vaccines. The European Court of Justice has ruled that the Commission failed to provide credible justification for not releasing these texts, sparking further scrutiny.
Despite the required 72 signatures to trigger the motion, the vote is expected to be symbolic, requiring a double majority—two-thirds of votes cast and a majority of the Parliament’s 720 seats. Although the European People’s Party and other centrist groups—forming the current parliamentary majority—have indicated they will not support the motion, some members expressed frustration over the Commission’s contradictory stance on transparency. Piperea emphasized the vote as a "crucial opportunity for constructive and substantiated criticism" rather than a political power play.
If successful, the motion would force the entire European Commission to resign, leading to the appointment of 27 new commissioners. This scenario is unprecedented, with the last similar motion against former President Jean-Claude Juncker in 2014 failing by a wide margin. The event highlights the ongoing tensions within the EU over governance, transparency, and the handling of the pandemic, further complicating the political landscape.