Vote of confidence: How the European Parliament can finish Commission
At least two-thirds of the votes cast in the Parliament, representing a majority of all its members, are needed to adopt a motion of censure, a no-confidence vote that would topple President Ursula von der Leyen - and wash away her entire European Commission with her.
A motion of censure can be tabled if one in ten MEPs supports the request. Once their signatures have been verified and validated by the Parliament's services, the President must immediately inform the lawmakers, under the Parliament's rules.
A plenary debate on the request for resignation must then be scheduled at least 24 hours after the announcement, and a vote on the matter must take place at least 48 hours after the start of the debate. The debate and the vote must take place, at the latest, during the plenary session following the submission of the motion.
All MEPs who have signed the motion could in theory withdraw their support for it afterwards, and if the one-tenth threshold is no longer met, the process would be halted.
The voting session is run by roll call, meaning that every MEP will vote in public. At least two-thirds of the votes cast representing a majority of all MEPs would need to back the motion of censure for it to be adopted.
Nine attempts in the past, only one resignation
There have been nine previous attempts by MEPs to topple the European Commission.
In 1990 the Group of the European Right tried to force the Commission's resignation over Agricultural Policy, but decisively failed, gaining only 16 votes in favour with 243 against.
The most recent attempt took place in November 2014, against the Commission led by Luxembourgish President Jean-Claude Juncker. It was initiated by the eurosceptic political group Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy in response to the 'Luxembourg Leaks' financial scandal, which exposed the country's tax regime. Only 101 of 670 MEPs voted in favour, well below the required threshold.
Other attempts have centred on issues such as the EU budget, the impact of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in Europe, and the management of Eurostat, the Commission's statistical office.
Only once in history has a motion of censure resulted in a Commission's resignation—and that happened without a formal vote in plenary session.
In March 1999, the Commission led by Luxembourgish President Jacques Santer resigned amid fraud allegations and transparency concerns, preempting Parliament's formal vote. This came despite that Commission having survived three separate motions on other topics in prior years.
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