The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is back in Strasbourg to defend herself against a no-confidence motion, just months after her last one.
On Monday evening, two motions of no confidence against the President will be debated at the European Parliament, as von der Leyen is set to defend herself against both ends of the political spectrum.
The far-right Patriots for Europe group seeks to hold her accountable for her trade policy, specifically the EU-Mercosur trade deal and the EU-US deal. While the Left group will criticise her trade policy and accuse her of “complicity in genocide” in Gaza.
France’s Jordan Bardella of the Patriots group and France’s Manon Aubry of The Left have both called for von der Leyen to step down.
This comes after she survived a separate motion of no-confidence in July over her secret texts with the chief executive of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in 2021.
This led to legal action after an MEP sued von der Leyen for alleged defamation over comments she made during her speech at the European Parliament plenary session.
Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea, from the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), filed a claim at the EU Court of Justice last month. He seeks moral damages and an official apology for what he alleges were defamatory and politically motivated accusations against him by von der Leyen.
The vote of no confidence against von der Leyen is scheduled to take place on Thursday.
She is widely expected to survive, but if she loses the vote, she and the rest of her Commission will have to stand down, throwing the EU political sphere into chaos.