Von der Leyen faces brutal new deal with European Parliament
Parliament
is flexing is muscles just as EU leaders push back on key aspects of Commission
president’s agenda.
October
10, 2025 4:00 am CET
By
Nicholas Vinocur
BRUSSELS
― Ursula von der Leyen comfortably overcame her critics ― but her relationship
with the European Parliament will never be the same again.
In one of
the most politically bruising weeks of her second term, the European Commission
president faced down two motions of no confidence as well as a rebellion by
lawmakers in her own conservative party.
She
remains safely in her job, and even came out of the fight with strengthened
support, but there’s a price to pay. She’ll now have to take the Parliament —
long considered the weakest of the EU’s three main institutions — much more
seriously than she, or her predecessors, have done before. And Parliament’s
voice is getting stronger just as far-right groups, like Patriots for Europe,
are becoming more influential in the chamber.
For
lawmakers who have struggled for years to be given the same consideration as
national leaders in the European Council, the spectacle of von der Leyen humbly
vowing to take their views into account is a victory. It coincides with the
recent revision of the framework agreement between the Commission and
Parliament, which gave the elected assembly slightly more oversight over the
Commission — useful for Parliament President Roberta Metsola to showcase the
modest concessions she scored, and even more useful for von der Leyen to show
MEPs she cares about them.
“MEPs are
steadily increasing their grip on lawmaking by holding the Commission to its
treaty obligations,” said Andrew Duff, a former European lawmaker and co-author
of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty. “This is much more important than posturing censure
motions.”
Kid
gloves
But for
von der Leyen, who’s also battling pushback from EU leaders like German
Chancellor Friedrich Merz over her plans for a “drone wall” to fend off Russian
air incursions, the more assertive Parliament is a problem, because she has to
fight on two fronts to keep her agenda on track.
She gave
heed to the new power dynamic Monday when, responding to critiques from the
far-right and far-left leaders who tabled the motions against her, she struck a
conciliatory tone.
Gone were
the defiant notes of her speech to Parliament in July, when she accused the
sponsors of a no-confidence motion of being puppets of Russian President
Vladimir Putin. This time von der Leyen was wearing kid gloves.
Parliament’s
grievances “come from a place of genuine and legitimate concern,” she said.
The
softer tone may have to do with the realization that it’s not just fringe
politicians challenging her, but members of her own political tribe. The
motions not only dented von der Leyen’s image but also gave her Socialist and
liberal allies a perfect opportunity to air their frustrations, showing Europe
that Brussels is not immune to the political instability hitting the continent.
The
Socialists & Democrats, for example, have doubled down on their demands,
with prominent German lawmaker René Repasi telling POLITICO’s EU Confidential
podcast that von der Leyen has six months to deliver on her promises to the
group, or it could put forward its own censure motion.
Von der
Leyen “has to deliver,” Repasi said.
They
always fall in line
An even
bigger headache for the Commission president is that lawmakers in her own
political group, the conservative European People’s Party, are rebelling
against a long-term budget plan she presented in July. While not unprecedented
― the EPP sank big chunks of von der Leyen’s green agenda last year ― such
defiance shows her political family growing more assertive.
Even so,
diplomats still argue that when it comes to the pecking order of EU
institutions, the Council, with its national leaders, still reigns supreme.
“I don’t
believe in this new Parliament, sorry,” said one diplomat who was granted
anonymity to speak frankly. “They can threaten, but when a leader picks up the
phone, they always fall in line.”
A case in
point: Despite threatening to torpedo von der Leyen’s omnibus bill, the
socialists fell into line after Merz asked his Spanish counterpart, Pedro
Sanchez, to rein in his fellow socialists.
Indeed,
despite the Parliament’s assertiveness, the EU’s pecking order remains more or
less
intact.
That won’t be much comfort to von der Leyen.
Max Griera and Sarah Wheaton contributed reportin
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