The European Parliament will debate and vote on two motions of censure brought against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in early October, Parliament President Roberta Metsola confirmed in an email to MEPs on Tuesday.
Two political groups – The Left and the far-right Patriots for Europe – filed separate no-confidence motions last week: The Left over what they see as von der Leyen’s inaction towards Israel on Gaza and the Patriots over her US and Mercosur trade deals.
“I have received two motions of censure,” Metsola’s email reads, further stating that “the motions will be added to the final draft agenda for the plenary part-session of October”. The plenary session is scheduled to take place from 6-9 October.
It is the second time this year that Ursula von der Leyen has to defend her Commission in the European Parliament. In July, the Commission president smoothly passed a far-right-led motion of censure, with only 175 MEPs voting in favour.
It remains unclear how the two motions will be handled at the plenary, as parliamentary rules don’t spell out the process. “Subsequent steps will be established after verifications,” the Parliament’s services told Euractiv last week. Never before have two such motions landed simultaneously.
The next move now lies with the Conference of Presidents, the European Parliament’s leadership body, which will decide on the scheduling.
(vib)
