On Thursday, there was a vote in the European Parliament. The vote was about the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Center Party member Jaak Madison supported the motion of no confidence. His party colleague Jana Toom did not vote. The other Estonian MEPs supported von der Leyen.
175 MEPs supported the motion of no confidence. 360 MEPs opposed it. Madison belongs to the right-wing populist faction. He voted in favor of the motion. Toom is part of the liberal faction. She did not vote. Toom said she does not support von der Leyen. But she also did not support the far-right.
Toom said she is not satisfied with von der Leyen's work. She thinks von der Leyen is not a good president. Toom said von der Leyen made many promises. But these promises have not been fulfilled. Toom said the Commission produces few laws. There are more plans and documents.
Toom believed that a motion of no confidence would be bad. Because then a new Commission would have to be found. That would take a lot of time. Currently, it is a difficult time in the world. The European Union cannot afford this. Toom said many MEPs are dissatisfied. There may be more motions of no confidence.
There were many people who did not vote. Out of 719 MEPs, only 553 voted. This shows that many are dissatisfied. In the next vote, 636 MEPs voted.
Von der Leyen won the vote. She was mainly supported by members of her faction. From Estonia, she was supported by Isamaa, Social Democrats, and Liberals. Over 90% of the members of these factions supported her.
Toom has been a member of the Center Party since 2009. Madison joined the Center Party in 2023. Before that, he was a member of the Estonian Conservative People's Party.