EU chief von der Leyen survives confidence vote

STRASBOURG, France — EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday comfortably saw off a no-confidence vote in European Parliament, but the rare challenge has exposed friction between her backers and complaints about her leadership style.

Lawmakers in Strasbourg rejected the censure motion, launched by the far right over the European Commission president's handling of COVID-19 vaccine contracts, by 360 to 175 in a widely expected result.

"In a moment of global volatility and unpredictability, the EU needs strength, vision, and the capacity to act," von der Leyen, who wasn't at the parliament for the vote, wrote on X after the vote.

"As external forces seek to destabilize and divide us, it is our duty to respond in line with our values. Thank you, and long live Europe."

Addressing parliament earlier this week, von der Leyen had dismissed the initiative as a conspiracy theory-led attempt to divide Europe.

She urged lawmakers to renew confidence in her commission, arguing that it was critical for Europe to show unity in the face of an array of challenges.

The no-confidence motion was initiated by Romanian far-right lawmaker Gheorghe Piperea. He accuses von der Leyen of lack of transparency over text messages she sent to the head of the Pfizer pharmaceutical giant when negotiating over vaccines.

The commission's failure to release the messages, the focus of multiple court cases, has given weight to critics who accuse its boss of centralized and opaque decision-making.

That is also a growing refrain from the commission chief's traditional allies on the left and center, who have used the vote to air their grievances.

AGENCIES VIA XINHUA