No other commissioners will be present at the debate in Strasbourg, according to two officials. A vote on the motion, which is all but certain to fail, will take place on Thursday.
During previous debates on censure motions, von der Leyen and her team of 26 commissioners turned out in force to project unity.
This time, the message is different: the Commission is no longer playing ball.
The shift reflects growing fatigue inside the Berlaymont at a parliamentary tool that was used three times against von der Leyen in the second half of 2025. Two of those motions were brought by the far right and one by the far left. All failed.
Support from just 72 of the Parliament’s 720 lawmakers is needed to trigger a motion of censure, and many lawmakers from the center-right European People’s Party, the Socialists and Democrats, and the liberals of Renew say the ease of launching censure motions has diluted their impact.
EPP spokesperson Pedro López de Pablo said these “useless efforts” to bring down the Commission “drive me to melancholy.”