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Ursula von der Leyen survives no-confidence vote

Ursula von der Leyen survives no-confidence vote

A vote of no confidence against European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen has failed to secure the majority needed to move forward. Only 175 members of parliament supported the motion, while 360 ​​voted against and 18 abstained.

Romanian nationalist Gheorghe Piperea was harsh in his speech in Parliament before the vote.

"Decision-making has become opaque and discretionary, and raises fears of abuse and corruption. The cost of the European Union's obsessive bureaucracy, such as (dealing with) climate change, has been huge," he said.

This vote, the first of its kind in the European Parliament in over a decade, was organized by far-right lawmakers.

The motion consisted of a host of allegations against von der Leyen, including private messages with the head of the Pfizer factory that produced vaccines against the coronavirus, misuse of EU funds, and interference in elections in Germany and Romania.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban previously said in a Facebook post that the vote "will be a moment of truth, on one side will be the imperialist elite of Brussels, on the other the patriots. It is essential to find a solution."

"Madam President, the essence of your leadership is responsibility. It's time for you to leave!"

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has frequently clashed with Orbán over his actions in Budapest that have undermined democracy. As a result, the European Commission has frozen his access to billions of euros in EU funds.

This vote has paved the way for much criticism of von der Leyen - who has been at the forefront of the EU's initiative to find vaccines for nearly 450 million people during the pandemic - but also of her European People's Party, which constitutes the largest political group in parliament./ REL

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