Von der Leyen is under relentless fire.
The second mandate of European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen (VDL) is turning out way harder than the first, as the controversial leader is still plagued by the Pfizergate scandal, has been facing repeated votes of no-confidence, and to top it all now she is being sued by a Member of the EU Parliament for defamation.
Ursula von der Leyen did survive a no-confidence vote in the European Parliament in July, but more challenges are in short order, coming from the two opposite sides of the political spectrum.
Euronews reported:
“The Left and Patriots for Europe groups are working on two different motions of censure to topple the European Commission, to be tabled in the next weeks, as soon as the minimum threshold of signatures is reached.”
Each motion of censure needs 72 MEP signatures to be put to the vote in the plenary session.
“According to internal sources, the EU’s inaction on Gaza and the deal signed with Mercosur are other reasons for discontent for the Left, which is formed by parties like France Unbowed, Spain’s Podemos, and Italy’s Five Star Movement.
The group comprises 46 MEPs, meaning it needs 26 more signatures to reach the threshold. On principle, the Left will not ask for support from the far-right Patriots for Europe or European Conservatives and Reformists, which, for their part, are not interested in backing any leftist initiative.”
On the other side, the Patriots for Europe group (PfE) is also devising a similar plan.
“The far-right political force – which includes France’s National Rally, Hungary’s Fidesz, and Italy’s The League – has been planning on a new motion of censure since before the summer break, having voted in favour of the one tabled in July.
[…} Patriots do not need help from other groups to table a no-confidence vote. If all their 85 members sign the initiative, the threshold is reached, and the vote has to take place.”
While all that is going on, the Commissioner is facing a defamation suit by European lawmakers who led a failed no-confidence vote her, after she implied they were taking orders from Russia.
Politico reported:
“Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea, of the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), said the European Commission president chose to ‘personally attack’ him in her remarks during the no-confidence debate.
Piperea is seeking an official public apology for the Commission president’s comments, which he said included the claim that its signatories were ‘[Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s friends’, ‘extremists’, and propagators of ‘conspiracy theories’. A ‘significant number’ of those signatories have joined the lawsuit, the MEP said.”
“The case was filed at the EU Court of Justice, which has yet to rule on whether it is admissible. While defamation cases are usually handled by national courts — as the CJEU only rules on EU law — Piperea is using an article of the treaty founding the EU as legal basis. The article states the EU needs to ‘make good any damage caused by its institutions or by its servants in the performance of their duties’.”
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The post DOUBLE TROUBLE: EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen Faces Another Two No-Confidence Votes in October, Is Sued for Defamation by Opposition MEPs She Called ‘Putin’s Friends’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.