Fianna Fáil’s four MEPs will not be supporting a motion of no-confidence in European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen this week, which has been tabled by far-right parties.
Politicians in the European Parliament are due to vote on whether to censure the political leadership of the EU’s executive body, which if passed would force the resignation of Dr von der Leyen and her team of 26 EU commissioners, including former Fianna Fáil minister Michael McGrath.
A group of 75 MEPs, mainly from far-right and nationalist parties in Poland, Romania, France and Germany, forced the motion of no-confidence on to the agenda.
The vote will take place early on Thursday, with a two-thirds majority of the 720-seat European Parliament needed to be successful. It is expected the effort will fall far short.
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Fianna Fáil’s four MEPs spent recent days weighing up which way to vote, with supporting the motion, or abstaining, on the table.
Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, a Fianna Fáil MEP for Ireland South, said she had decided against supporting the no-confidence motion, as it was being driven by “Covid deniers and anti-vaxxers”.
If the motion was successful it would trigger a political crisis and leave the commission leaderless at a “critical moment” during negotiations to agree a tariff deal with the United States.
“I make no apologies for doing what I feel is right for Ireland, for our economy, for our farmers, protecting jobs and for economic stability,” she said.
Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews said would abstain in the vote, to register his “frustration” at the commission’s inaction on Gaza, without supporting a motion put forward by far-right MEPs.
The no-confidence vote was tabled over the “Pfizergate” controversy, where the commission faced criticism for refusing to release text messages exchanged between Dr von der Leyen and the chief executive of Pfizer, during negotiations to secure supplies of Covid-19 vaccines at the height of the pandemic.
Copies of the texts had been sought in access-to-information requests made by the New York Times, which later took the commission to court for blocking the release of the texts.
Speaking this week, Dr von der Leyen said it was “no secret” that she was in contact with senior figures in companies producing Covid-19 vaccines. “The implication that these contacts were somehow inappropriate or against the European interest is, by any measure, simply wrong,” she told MEPs.
In a statement, Fianna Fáil’s Barry Cowen said he remained “highly critical” of Dr von der Leyen’s leadership, but would not vote for the motion.
“The motion is not about Gaza or her broader leadership failings; it narrowly focuses on vaccine procurement and is driven by far-right forces seeking to exploit pandemic grievances,” he said.
“If this were a targeted motion against von der Leyen alone, or one related directly to her handling of Gaza, I may well have voted differently – but that is not the case,” Mr Cowen said.
It is understood Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher will also vote against the motion.
Fine Gael’s four MEPs; Sean Kelly, Maria Walsh, Regina Doherty, and Nina Carberry, oppose the motion.
Labour’s Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said he would not support the effort to censure the commission, as he opposed co-operating with the far right.
Sinn Féin’s Lynn Boylan and Kathleen Funchion said they would back the proposal, due to the failure of the EU to hold Israel to account for its conduct during its invasion of Gaza. Independent MEP Luke Ming Flanagan said he would also support the motion for similar reasons.
Michael McNamara and Ciaran Mullooly did not respond to queries about how they planned to vote.
