Von der Leyen criticizes Russia for no-confidence motion
(MENAFN) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pushed back against a no-confidence motion in the European Parliament, accusing her opponents of spreading conspiracy theories and serving the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The vote, set for Thursday, was introduced by Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea. During a parliamentary debate on Monday, von der Leyen dismissed the initiative as part of an extremist agenda, aimed at eroding public trust in the European Union through misinformation. She claimed the motion's supporters lacked real solutions and were instead being backed by “enemies” of the EU, including Russia.
“These are groups driven by conspiracies—from anti-vaccine activists to Putin sympathizers,” she stated. “Just look at some of the signatories to see what I mean.”
Piperea, from Romania’s nationalist AUR party, argued that the European Commission has become overly centralized and undemocratic, and that it frequently meddles in member states’ internal matters.
Russian officials have in turn criticized EU leadership for stifling dissent and using fear-mongering to deflect blame. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov went so far as to label von der Leyen a “fuhrer” over her push for a massive EU militarization plan. Moscow insists it does not interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries.
Von der Leyen called on pro-European and pro-democracy factions in the parliament to support her leadership, stressing the need for unity to maintain the EU’s global influence.
Criticism of von der Leyen’s tenure has largely focused on her management of the EU's Covid-19 response—particularly the controversial 2021 vaccine deal with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. The European Court of Justice recently faulted her office for not preserving key text messages related to that agreement and for refusing to release them to journalists.
Piperea’s party leader, George Simion, narrowly lost a recent presidential runoff in Romania to a pro-EU candidate. The election followed a nullified earlier round in which outsider Calin Georgescu had led. Romania’s Constitutional Court voided those results, citing alleged Russian interference—a move that EU critics say reflects an increasing erosion of democratic norms in the bloc.
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