European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will not attend the European Parliament debate on a no-confidence motion targeting her and her team over the EU–Mercosur trade deal.
On Monday, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will discuss the motion, filed by the far-right Patriots for Europe group and its leader, Jordan Bardella. Von der Leyen has chosen to be represented by Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, a close ally, Parliament spokesperson Delphine Colard confirmed. No other commissioners are expected at the debate in Strasbourg. A vote on the motion is scheduled for Thursday, though it is widely expected to fail.
In contrast to previous censure debates, when von der Leyen and her 26 commissioners attended en masse to show unity, this time the Commission is signaling a different stance. Officials say the decision reflects growing fatigue within the Berlaymont, where censure motions were used three times against von der Leyen in the latter half of 2025—twice by the far right and once by the far left—all of which failed.
Only 72 of the Parliament’s 720 MEPs are required to trigger a motion of censure. Many lawmakers from the center-right European People’s Party (EPP), the Socialists and Democrats, and the liberal Renew group argue that the low threshold has weakened the mechanism.
“These useless efforts to bring down the Commission drive me to melancholy,” said EPP spokesperson Pedro López de Pablo. Vincent Stuer, spokesperson for Renew, added: “If you use this instrument not for its proper purposes, it will be bland by the time you actually need it.”
The Patriots for Europe, however, remain defiant. “It will be the last one if we win,” said spokesperson Alonso de Mendoza.
Discussions have emerged about raising the threshold for censure motions, but Parliament leadership has resisted, fearing the far right could frame any reform as institutional censorship.
A Commission spokesperson emphasized that debates on censure motions are “within the rights of the members of the European Parliament” and that “any member of the College of Commissioners can represent the Commission,” in this case, Šefčovič.
The debate will test both parliamentary patience and the Commission’s tolerance for repeated challenges, even as von der Leyen’s team signals it will no longer engage in the pageantry of past confrontations.
