The European Commission president has been under scrutiny over a Pfizergate Covid-19 vaccine scandal
The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are set to vote on a motion of no confidence against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen next week, citing her handling of a controversial Covid-19 vaccine deal, according to multiple media reports.
The motion, brought forward by Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea, is scheduled for debate on July 7, followed by a vote on July 10 during the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, Politico reported on Wednesday.
Von der Leyen has been accused of a lack of transparency and mismanagement during the pandemic, specifically over her refusal to disclose text messages exchanged with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during 2021 negotiations over a multi-billion-euro contract for Covid-19 vaccines. The move follows a ruling by the EU’s Court of Justice, which found that the European Commission had failed to provide credible justification for not releasing the texts.
“The Commission cannot merely state that it does not hold the requested documents but must provide credible explanations,” the court ruled in May. The refusal to share the messages even after the court order showed “a continued pattern of institutional overreach, democratic disregard, and erosion of public trust in the Union’s governance,” Piperea argued last month.
Despite collecting the required 72 signatures to trigger the motion, the vote is expected to be largely symbolic. A double majority is required for it to pass: two-thirds of votes cast must support the motion, representing a majority of the Parliament’s 720 seats. Piperea acknowledged the vote’s long odds but described it as a “crucial opportunity for constructive and substantiated criticism towards President von der Leyen.”
Von der Leyen’s European People’s Party and other centrist groups that form the current parliamentary majority have indicated they will not support the motion, even as some members expressed frustration over the Commission’s hypocritical stance on transparency.
If the motion were to succeed, the entire European Commission would be required to resign, triggering the appointment of 27 new commissioners. The only time a Commission has resigned en masse was in 1999, under President Jacques Santer, amid a corruption scandal. The last similar motion, filed against former Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in 2014 over tax avoidance allegations, failed by a wide margin.
