MEPs Express Strong Disapproval of New EU Commission Leadership

Some MEPs have signalled their strong disapproval of the new team of EU commissioners to serve under Ursula von der Leyen.

MEPs voted to back the new team, or “college”, at the plenary in Strasbourg. 

The mainstream parties voted in favour of the new look commission.

While a majority voted in favour of the new college, the Left Group is particularly scathing, branding the outcome as “a complete farce.”

In a statement, the Left Group added,

Political groups in Parliament have endorsed the most far-right, corporate-driven, and ethically compromised Commission in EU history.

This is the first EU administration in history that relies on anti-democratic political forces. It’s no accident, but a well-calculated political choice from Socialists, Liberals, and Conservatives to back a commission that erodes democratic values.

It said,

What is being spun as a ‘democratic majority’ is, in reality, an EPP wish list enforced through a ‘Cordon Flexitaire,’ where conservatives strike deals with the far right when liberals and socialists hesitate.

These scandalous deals ensured key posts went to candidates whose records reek of ineptitude and corruption: a Climate Commissioner with offshore dealings and ties to fossil fuels, a Cohesion Commissioner formerly banned from office for bribery, and an Innovation Commissioner accused of selling EU passports to the highest bidder. These appointments were rubber-stamped with barely a pretense of scrutiny. Accountability has been sacrificed on the altar of power-sharing,

the Left statement said.

The statement continued,

Meanwhile, policies that should prioritize good jobs in sustainable industries and social justice are nowhere to be found. Instead, Europe’s Green Deal is being gutted, and industrial competitiveness has taken precedence over bold climate action, cemented by the appointment of Stéphane Séjourné to oversee industrial strategy. This isn’t a green transition—it’s a handout to polluters wrapped in eco-friendly branding.

Support for the new team has come from S&D Group leader, Iratxe García, whose group is the second biggest in the EU Parliament. She still warned that,

Our support is not a blank cheque. We will not accept double-dealing.

The Spanish member added,

We are at a decisive moment for the future of the European project. We face challenges of enormous magnitude at a time when the extreme right wants to put an end to the European project, Trump threatens to break the transatlantic link, China has shattered trade rules, international law is questioned as a consequence of Putin’s devastating war against Ukraine and Netanyahu