From now on, the Commission President is the last person from whom we are willing to accept any criticism about Hungary's internal affairs, he said.Continue reading
On Monday, the European Parliament held a debate after a vote of no-confidence was initiated last week against Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
The collection of signatures required for the motion of no-confidence was initiated by Gheorghe Piperea, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) faction of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). The reason for the motion is the lack of transparency in text messages exchanged between Ursula von der Leyen and the CEO of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding the procurement of vaccines, reads the website of the Belgian public service radio and television broadcaster RTBF.
Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, informed the members of the Conference of Presidents (made up of the leaders of the political groups) on Wednesday evening last week that the motion had received the minimum 72 signatures required for it to be debated and voted on in the EP plenary session. The motion of censure complies with all the requirements of the relevant article of the European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, the EP President said.
For the motion of censure to succeed, it must receive two-thirds of the votes cast by MEPs and an absolute majority of MEPs, or at least 361 MEPs.
If it is adopted, Ursula von der Leyen and the entire College of Commissioners of the European Commission would be forced to resign.
This has never happened before in the history of European institutions, except in 1999, when the EU Commission led by Jacques Santer of Luxembourg resigned before the vote of no-confidence following a report condemning his “serious responsibility” in fraud cases, RTBF recalled.
András Lászó, Fidesz MEP, reported on the Monday debate on X: “Von der Leyen claims this is not about her corruption and Pfizergate. She says that whoever criticizes her is in fact against the EU and democracy, not her. The left-wing parties (socialists, liberals, greens) attack the EPP, yet promise to keep their alliance backing von der Leyen and EPP. The corrupt grand coalition will stay together but is visibly rotting.”
It’s also important to note that the impeachment debate in the European Parliament was worse than a show trial.@vonderleyen was scheduled to hold an opening speech of 5 minutes. She was allowed to talk for more than 12 minutes.
Out of the 720 deputies, only 1 person was… https://t.co/52njcNpXvl
— András LÁSZLÓ MEP (@laszloan) July 7, 2025
He added: “The impeachment debate in the European Parliament was worse than a show trial. Ursula von der Leyen was scheduled to hold an opening speech of 5 minutes. She was allowed to talk for more than 12 minutes.
Out of the 720 deputies, only 1 person was allowed to intervene per political group. No questions or answers were allowed.
Ursula von der Leyen didn’t want to expose herself for a second time, so she did not take the floor to react to the speakers and critics.”
Kinga Gál, Vice-President of Patriots for Europe Group in the European Parliament, also shared her thoughts on the debate. In a post on social media, she claimed that the Commission President showed signs of political vulnerability during the session. “The agony of Ursula von der Leyen has demonstrably begun today,” she wrote. “No matter how long the process will take, the beginning of the end of her era is already in sight.”
“She totally lost it today and even outdid her usual weak self,” Gál added, comparing her to “a loose cannon on a sinking ship.”
The agony of @vonderleyen has demonstrably begun today. No matter how long the process is going to take, the beginning of the end of her era is already in sight.
She totally lost it today & even outdid her usual weak self in the debate on the motion of censure against the… pic.twitter.com/ZOhHpGl743
— Kinga Gál (@kingagalMEP) July 7, 2025
She also criticized European People’s Party (EPP) leader Manfred Weber, alleging he had made concessions to left-wing parties.
More pitiful than her was only Manfred Weber, who visibly kneeled down in front of the left-wing groups in order to please them,”
Gál wrote.
Concluding her remarks, Gál positioned her group as the driving force for change in the European Union, asserting that, “change can only be brought along by the Patriots for Europe.”
Balázs Orbán, the Hungarian Prime Minister’s political director, wrote in his X post,
Ursula von der Leyen branded critics as ‘conspiracy theorists’ & ‘Putin apologists’ and called Pfizergate a ‘conspiracy.'”
“Even Politico admits it isn’t,” he added, attaching a Politico article on von der Leyen’s Pfizergate:
Ladies & Gentlemen, this is what accountability looks like—EU-style:
1 speaker per group, no questions, no answers.@vonderleyen branded critics as “conspiracy theorists” & “Putin apologists” and called Pfizergate a “conspiracy”. Even @POLITICOEurope admits it isn’t.Today we… https://t.co/qSNAvEPyY8 pic.twitter.com/I6phOTRyHO
— Balázs Orbán (@BalazsOrban_HU) July 7, 2025
“Today we saw those within the Brussels elite who keep her in power to continue a failed agenda of radical green ideology, uncontrolled migration, gender ideology enforcement, failed sanctions, war escalation and inflation across Europe. Not a hearing. A cover-up in real time,” he pointed out.
Via rtbf.be, Featured image: European Parliament / Alexis HAULOT