Alex Agius Saliba abstains in confidence vote against EU chief Ursula von der Leyen

Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba stood apart from his Maltese counterparts on Thursday, abstaining from a European Parliament vote of no confidence against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The motion, spearheaded by far-right MEPs, was comfortably defeated, with 360 MEPs voting in von der Leyen’s favour and 175 against. Only 18 MEPs abstained, including Agius Saliba. He explained his decision stemmed from deep dissatisfaction with the Commission’s political direction.

“The position taken on the Middle East, especially on Palestine, the total lack of social ambition, together with the European Union's rearmament process, have placed me in a situation where I could never give a vote of confidence to Ursula von der Leyen,” Agius Saliba wrote on social media following the vote.

The motion was tabled by Romanian far-right MEP Gheorghe Piperea and focused on Von der Leyen’s refusal to release private text messages with the CEO of Pfizer regarding COVID-19 vaccine procurement

But Agius Saliba said his decision was driven more by policy differences than procedure. He accused von der Leyen and her European People’s Party (EPP) of pushing an "anti-social agenda" and prioritising military build-up over social cohesion.

“The political direction of the President of the European Commission is very different from the Europe I wish to see,” he said.

Agius Saliba also serves as deputy leader of Malta’s Labour Party and heads the PL’s European Parliament delegation.

He expressed hope that the vote would act as a wake-up call for von der Leyen and the EPP. “Hopefully, this warning serves as a lesson so that they stop trying to steamroll everyone with their anti-social policies,” he said.