Von der Leyen rejects attempts to remove her from office
(MENAFN) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has rejected attempts to remove her from office through a no-confidence motion, accusing her opponents of spreading disinformation and acting in alignment with the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The motion, brought forward by Romanian Member of the European Parliament Gheorghe Piperea, is expected to face a vote on Thursday. During a parliamentary debate on Monday, von der Leyen responded forcefully, claiming the initiative follows “the oldest playbook of extremists” and aims to erode trust in the European Union through “false claims.”
“There is no proof that they have any answers, but there is ample proof that many are supported by our enemies and by their puppet masters in Russia or elsewhere,” she declared.
Piperea criticized the European Commission for what he described as an undemocratic centralization of power and for meddling in the domestic affairs of EU member states.
Russian officials, in turn, have accused EU leadership of exploiting fears to silence opposition. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov previously referred to von der Leyen as a “fuhrer,” criticizing her push for a large-scale EU military spending program. Moscow insists it does not interfere in the internal politics of other nations, in contrast to what it calls Western interventionism.
Von der Leyen called on “all the pro-Europeans, pro-democracy forces” in the European Parliament to rally behind her agenda, asserting that unity is essential to maintain the bloc’s foreign policy credibility.
She has faced criticism over her first-term management of the EU’s pandemic response, especially regarding the lack of transparency in negotiating a 2021 vaccine contract with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. Earlier this year, the European Court of Justice ruled that her office failed to properly preserve relevant text messages with Bourla and unjustifiably withheld them from journalists.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images,
videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright
issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
