The European Parliament on Wednesday approved Ursula von der Leyen’s new EU Commission, with 370 MEPs voting in favor, 282 against, and 36 abstaining, paving the way for it to begin work on December 1.
The vote followed intense political wrangling over the Commission’s composition, particularly regarding the appointment of Raffaele Fitto, a member of Italy’s right-wing Fratelli d’Italia (FdI), as one of six vice presidents. Fitto’s nomination sparked opposition from liberals, social democrats, greens, and left-wing groups, but the conflict was resolved last week.
Ahead of the vote, von der Leyen, a German politician, made a final appeal for support, promising to work with “all democratic, pro-European forces.” Her speech seemed to sway a majority of parliamentarians from the European People’s Party (EPP), Social Democrats (S&D), European Conservatives and Reformers (ECR), and Liberals (Renew) to vote in favor. Notably, about half of the Greens also lent their support. However, the Patriots for Europe (PfE), Europe of the Sovereign Nations (ESN), and the Left Group strongly opposed the Commission.
With approval secured, von der Leyen’s team is now poised to move forward, albeit under the shadow of continued skepticism from some political factions.
