European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen easily survived two no-confidence votes on Thursday, as a clear majority of EU lawmakers rejected censure motions brought by far-right and far-left groups.
In the first vote, 378 lawmakers opposed a far-right motion, while 179 supported it and 37 abstained. A separate motion from the far-left was rejected by 383 votes to 133, with 78 abstentions.
This marks the third time in a year that von der Leyen has faced — and survived — no-confidence votes since starting her second five-year term as head of the EU’s executive body. She is the first European Commission president in over a decade to be subjected to such motions.
The European Commission is responsible for proposing EU laws, enforcing their implementation, managing trade for the 27 member states, and overseeing competition policy.
The nationalist Patriots for Europe group accused von der Leyen of letting migration “explode,” claiming it endangered Europe’s “identity and security.” They also alleged that her environmental policies harmed farmers and consumers.
Meanwhile, The Left group blamed her for backing “detrimental trade deals” and for failing to “act against the Israeli government’s systemic violations of international law in Gaza.”
Despite the criticism, von der Leyen was strongly supported by the main pro-European centrist blocs in the European Parliament, which hold a majority and dismissed the motions as political theatrics by extremist parties.
Still, the votes have reignited criticism of von der Leyen and her center-right European People’s Party (EPP), the largest group in the chamber, with opponents accusing them of aligning too closely with right-wing forces to advance their political agenda.