Result confirmed 1:31pm Live from Starsbourg
She’s won! Ursula von der Leyen survives confidence vote – and survives it comfortably! It was never is doubt, the Far-right parties in the EU could not foil this sly old fox.
Ursula von der Leyen survives confidence vote
Ursula von der Leyen has defied her critics by comfortably surviving a no-confidence vote, with an overwhelming number of European Union legislators rejecting a censure motion against her.
The European Commissioner faced a motion packed with a mix of allegations that included: text messaging privately with the chief executive of vaccine maker Pfizer during the Covid-19 pandemic, misuse of EU funds and interference in elections in Germany and Romania.
The motion was defeated in a 360-175 vote against it, with 18 legislators choosing to abstain during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.
Von der Leyen, who was not present for the vote, took to social media to say:
“As external forces seek to destabilize and divide us, it is our duty to respond in line with our values. Thank you, and long live Europe.”
Von der Leyen was always expected to survive the vote, but the political fallout from the whole motion could still take its toll.
Between The ByLines
The threat to the EU is coming from Trump allies, who are working on behalf of the United States to gain favourable trade deals to ensure the US companies and interests are protected. Like tech companies who harness data, AI tech and military spending on American made weapons, as opposed to EU defence force.
