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.

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........

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