Romanian far-right MEP submits no-confidence motion against European Commission

A motion of censure against the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen was submitted on Thursday, June 26, by far-right member of the European Parliament Gheorghe Piperea, part of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), the party announced.

Piperea, along with the other AUR deputies in the European Parliament, is part of the European Conservatives and Reformists, or ECR, group. Six Romanian MEPs are part of the group, although 3 have left AUR since they were elected.

The motion Piperea filed was signed by over 10% of the MEPs, fulfilling the procedural requirements to register as official.

The motion is set to be included on the agenda of the next meeting of the Conference of Presidents, scheduled for July 2, and later put to a vote in the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, from July 7–10.

“The initiative fundamentally aims to support transparency and ensure a fair and genuine democratic process,” said Gheorghe Piperea, quoted by the Financial Times.

To be successful, the motion requires the backing of more than two-thirds of the MEPs present. Chances of it passing, as a result, are rather low. The assembly has 720 members, and 401 voted for von der Leyen to become president a year ago.

Far-right MEPs have criticized the Commission since the pandemic years, blaming her for backroom deals with vaccine manufacturers. Piperea’s motion is based on the so-called “Pfizergate case” against Von der Leyen, which involves messages that were reportedly exchanged during the European Union's negotiation of a multibillion-euro COVID-19 vaccine contract with Pfizer during the height of the pandemic.

The far-right is also betting on other MEPs’ support, since the Commission head has angered the Parliament by bypassing it on many occasions.

Piperea maintained that some members of von der Leyen’s center-right European People’s Party, or EPP, support his initiative. He acknowledged that the chances of it succeeding are slim, but said it provides a “crucial opportunity for constructive and well-founded criticism of president von der Leyen.”

(Photo source: Partidulaur.ro)