Description: The executive branch of the European Union is faced with a no – confidence vote after Romanian conservative MEP (Minister of European Parliament) Gheorghe Piperea, filed a motion for the vote against the Commission’s President, Ursula von der Leyen. The motion arrived as a result of the disclosed scandal around personal communication evidence between von der Leyen and Pfizer’s CEO, Albert Bourla, during the Covid pandemic regarding the procuring of vaccines. Bourla and von der Leyen exchanged personal messages which haven’t been disclosed to the public and were reportedly crucial to securing the multi – billion-euro contract between Pfizer and the EU during the pandemic. The vote hasn’t gained substantial political traction and is expected to be purely symbolic. In case the no – confidence vote passes, the Commission and its 27 MEPs would have to be disbanded, and early elections would have to take place.
Impact: The Pfizer scandal surrounding the European Union accentuates historically familiar patterns of governance from the highest governing echelons within the EU. The scandal also highlights issues related to transparency, as the hidden evidence surrounding the case was prohibited from ever becoming public. Faced with a three – year long war, pressure from US tariffs, strategic encroachment from China, far – right extremism, energy crisis and internal political divisions, the EU has never been more divided in times when demonstrating political unison could be of existential value. The vote, even though it’s deemed symbolic, expresses insurmountable issues which threaten EU’s relevance and influence on the global geopolitical stage.