(MENAFN) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen successfully withstood two motions of no-confidence in the European Parliament on Thursday amid sharp criticism over trade deals and her handling of the Israel-Gaza crisis.

Out of 720 MEPs, 594 participated in the vote, representing 82.5 percent attendance. The first motion was defeated with 179 votes supporting it, 378 opposing, and 37 abstentions. The second motion faced a similar fate, falling with 133 in favor, 383 against, and 78 abstentions.

Per Parliament rules, a motion of no-confidence requires backing from over two-thirds of voting MEPs to pass.

The motions were put forward by the Patriots for Europe group—the third-largest faction in the Parliament—and The Left group. Patriots for Europe charged the Commission with implementing environmental policies that have weakened Europe’s economic competitiveness.
They also criticized a trade agreement with the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) for disadvantaging European farmers and condemned a new U.S. trade deal as lacking transparency and upsetting institutional balance.

The Left group echoed many of these criticisms regarding the EU-Mercosur and EU-U.S. trade deals. They further faulted the Commission for inadequate action on the climate and social crises and sharply condemned its position on the Israel-Gaza conflict.

This vote marked the second no-confidence attempt against von der Leyen’s Commission in three months, following the first such motion in July—the first since 2014.

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