The European Commission likes to present itself as the guardian of treaties. But looking closer, it too often acts as the guardian of the interests of the most powerful, to the detriment of democracy, justice, and the future of the planet.
The European Commission likes to wave the banner of human rights. Yet, in the face of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, its silence is deafening.
Since the very first day, The Left has been calling for sanctions against Israël, the end of military cooperation and the total suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Millions around the world take to the streets every single day, demanding an end to the genocide in Gaza, pleading for concrete action to stop Netanyahu.
Yet Ursula von der Leyen and the European Commission remain shamefully silent, trapped in complicity. Instead of using every tool to halt this horror, they choose business as usual: continuing trade, subsidies, and cooperation with Israel as though nothing were happening.
By ignoring the cries of Palestinians and turning their back on international law, the Commission has abandoned even the pretense of moral leadership. By ignoring the famine in Gaza and turning their back on their moral duty, von der Leyen has left Gaza to burn while Europe looks away.
Another value that has been flouted is democracy.
The trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur is the incarnation of democratic contempt. Negotiated in secret, it was designed to satisfy agribusiness and automotive industry lobbies, disregarding parliaments, farmers, citizens and civil society.
This deal threatens public health, promotes deforestation in the Amazon and undermines European social and environmental standards. It is not just a bad trade agreement that will kill EU agriculture: it is an anti-democratic act of force, a denial of the role of the people in shaping European policies.
And when it comes to global power, weakness turns into capitulation.
The rushed signing of the new trade agreement with President Donald Trump illustrates once again the structural weakness of the Commission. By accepting unfavourable terms, it has turned the European Union into a vassal of the United States.
Rather than defending European independence and strong industries, the Commission is bowing down to USA protectionist threats. This choice does not strengthen Europe: it weakens it, divides it and discredits it on the world stage.
In Palestine, in Mercosur, in the emergency climate crisis, in the face of the United States: everywhere, the European Commission is demonstrating that it serves not the people but the most powerful and corporate greed. The European Union cannot afford it any longer.
Von der Leyen stands for an EU of lobbies, barbed wire, and guns. The Left says: enough. We refuse a Commission that sacrifices climate, social rights, and human dignity on the altar of conservatives. That is why The Left calls for a motion of non- confidence: The Commission Von der Leyen needs to be voted down. This motion of censure is a shout: another Europe is possible, one for the people, not the powerful.
