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The move came after 76 populist MEPs, led by Britain’s anti-EU UK Independence party and France’s rightwing National Front, signed a “motion of censure”, which forces a parliamentary vote on the commission’s resignation. “President Juncker, in his political life, has always acted to enrich his country behind its European partners, in defiance of the union and the community spirit he hopes to represent,” said Marco Zanni, an MEP from Italy’s populist Five Star Movement.
Juncker has denied any wrongdoing, saying he was not the “architect” of Luxembourg’s tax system and the tax deals were signed off by an independent authority.
The parliamentary motion, which requires a two-thirds majority to pass, is unlikely to succeed. The parliament’s two biggest blocs – Juncker’s centre-right Christian Democrat group, the biggest in the assembly, and the centre-left Socialists – are standing behind the commission president.
Nonetheless, the move is the first sign that anti-EU populists elected in May could start wreaking havoc with the inner workings of the bloc. The vote is likely to take place during next week’s parliamentary meeting in Strasbourg – the same session where Juncker is expected to unveil his much-heralded €300bn investment plan to resuscitate the EU economy.
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