European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen easily survived a motion of censure from the far right of the European Parliament on Thursday, though the dressing down she took from her would-be political partners in the process is probably a bigger concern.

360 parliamentarians backed the German center-right EU official in the no-confidence vote, 18 abstained, and 175 voted against her. More than 160 members of parliament (MEPs) did not show up to vote.

“In a moment of global volatility and unpredictability, the EU needs strength, vision and the capacity to act,” von der Leyen said in a post on X after the vote. “Thank you, and long live Europe,” she wrote.

That follows her speech to lawmakers on Monday, in which she hit out at far-right MEP Gheorghe Piperea, who initiated the no-confidence motion.

"It is taken right from the oldest playbook of extremists, polarizing society, eroding trust in democracy," she said.

What was behind the motion?

Last week, Piperea's motion garnered some 75 signatures from within the 720-seat house, meeting the low threshold to be considered. Piperea has been a member of the EU parliament since July 2024, representing Romania's Alianta pentru Unirea Romanilor (AUR), part of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group.

"We can follow Mr Piperea down his world of conspiracies and alleged sinister plots… or we can clearly call this out for what it is: another crude attempt to drive a wedge between our institutions," von der Leyen said on Monday.

The no-confidence motion hit out at, among other things, the long-standing transparency concerns over the negotiation of colossal EU contracts for Covid-19 vaccines. Had it passed, the bloc's most powerful official would have been ejected from office along with 26 other members of the European Commission.

Piperea criticized von der Leyen for text messages exchanged with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during the COVID-19 pandemic.  In the so-called Pfizergate scandal, a recent ruling by the EU General Court,  found the European Commission's reasoning for denying a New York Times journalist access to those texts was unfounded.

On Monday, von der Leyen hit back: "Every single contract negotiated was examined in detail in the capitals before being signed by each of the 27 member states," she said. "There were no secrets, no hidden clauses, no obligation to buy for member states."

Piperea's own political faction was divided on the vote, with group leader Nicola Procaccini distancing himself from the move on Monday, calling it a "mistake."

What did MEPs say?

It may have been Piperea who initiated the showdown, but other political factions which traditionally back von der Leyen — including the Socialists and Democrats, the Greens, and the centrist Renew Europe group — used the occasion to air their grievances and secure policy promises from the EU’s executive.

The center-left Socialists and Democrats group claimed a victory on plans to keep a funding pot for social spending in the EU’s next seven-year budget.

“Today the S&D Group achieved a major win for the people across Europe,” the political faction said on X.

“Our battle for social inclusion continues!”

For months, lawmakers have been growing agitated at what they see as cooperation between von der Leyen's own European People's Party with traditional right-wing group and far-right members.  For example, late last year, the EPP voted together with far-right members on a budgetary resolution concerning EU funding for border fences.

Left-wing lawmakers also accuse von der Leyen of backsliding on her landmark Green Deal climate goals, with a recent push to ease the bureaucratic burden associated with several laws and generally sidelining the entire institution of the parliament. 

"This is one big political show of the far right, to undermine democracy, to undermine our Europe, to undermine European democracy," Greens chair Bas Eickhout said. "[But] you are feeding that beast, and at a certain moment, the beast will eat you."

Valerie Hayer of the Liberals told von der Leyen to "get a grip so that we can work together with you to achieve what we jointly wish to achieve."

European elections last year left von der Leyen with no clear majority, but she was narrowly reconfirmed for a second term in office after pitching to work with centrist pro-European parties.

Is von der Leyen's reputation damaged?

Sophia Russack of the Center for European Policy Studies, told DW ahead of the vote that similar motions in the past have caused very little political damage. "The last motion of censure was in 2014 with [former European Commission President Jean-Claude] Juncker," the expert on EU affairs said. "That didn't damage him at all. He sailed through."

Von der Leyen reached out to the political center on Monday, "addressing all pro-European, pro-democracy forces in this house."

"I know that we do not agree on every detail of every proposal… and I cannot promise that we will always agree on everything in the future. But what I can promise is that we will always be ready to work for compromise and work for unity."

Edited by: Chrispin Mwakideu