The European Parliament will debate and then vote on two motions of no confidence in Ursula von der Leyen during its plenary session from October 6 to 9, according to an internal email from EP President Roberta Metsola, seen by Politico.
Two political groups – the right-wing Patriots for Europe and the Left – submitted separate motions of no confidence in the European Commission president at midnight on September 10, the earliest they could do so under parliamentary rules.
The moves came just hours after von der Leyen delivered her State of the Union address to Parliament in Strasbourg and just two months after the recent vote of confidence in her leadership, underscoring the EU's political fragmentation.
The Patriots accuse von der Leyen of a lack of transparency and accountability and have criticized the Mercosur and US trade agreements. The left also criticizes the Commission's trade policy, but attaches more importance to what they call inaction by the EU executive amid Israel's war in Gaza.
The presentation of two no-confidence motions at the same time is unprecedented and has caused debate in Parliament about how two debates and two votes can take place.
The timing of the debates and votes will be decided by the leaders of the political groups when they discuss the final agenda of the plenary session on October 1, said Parliament spokeswoman Delphine Colard.
The most likely option is to have a joint debate on Monday, October 6, followed by two separate votes on Thursday, October 9, according to two people with knowledge of parliamentary procedure.
The Patriots are likely to claim the right to have the first vote after winning the race to file the paperwork on time.
