The European Parliament on 10 July 2025 rejected a motion of no confidence in European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, marking the chamber’s first attempt in more than a decade to unseat the EU’s executive leader. Lawmakers critical of von der Leyen gained only 175 votes in favour of censure, against 360 opposed and 18 abstentions—well below the two-thirds super-majority that would have compelled the entire Commission to resign. The initiative was led by Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea after right-wing groups accused the president of opaque leadership and overreach. Central to the complaint was von der Leyen’s refusal to release text messages exchanged with Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla during COVID-19 vaccine negotiations, a controversy dubbed “Pfizergate”. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban amplified pressure on the eve of the ballot, publicly urging her to quit. While cross-party backing from the centre-right European People’s Party, Socialists & Democrats, Renew Europe and most Greens secured von der Leyen’s survival, the lower margin of support compared with her 2024 confirmation—and the absence of more than 160 members—signals eroding confidence. The Commission president now enters talks on a proposed €1.8 trillion EU budget for 2028-34 facing heightened scrutiny from both allies and opponents.