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Subject | The motion of no-confidence on 10 July is not just about Von der Leyen – it is a vote for human rights and the credibility of the institutions |
Dear Dear MEP,
I, [full name], as a [nationality] and European citizen, wish to express my deep concern and revulsion at the recent statements by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, regarding the escalation of tension in the Middle East involving ‘partners’ of our Union.
The European Union (EU) and its 27 member states are founded on unconditional communion with international law and the United Nations Charter of Fundamental Rights. However, Israel, as our "partner", has systematically violated the values enshrined in these treaties. By standing by silently, the European Union has become an accomplice to the crimes perpetrated by that country.
Bear in mind that Israel:
- Refused to sign nuclear non-proliferation treaties;
- Has developed dozens of undeclared nuclear bombs;
- Has ignored or even refused all UN resolutions to resolve the conflict in Palestine;
- Continues its illegitimate war of occupation;
- Has caused and continues to cause millions of refugees;
- Conducts a genocide in Gaza, according to the majority consensus of experts;
- Has armed forces that execute children on a daily basis, among thousands of other civilians;
- Has executed/injured UN humanitarian aid volunteers, including European citizens;
- Assumes health professionals and journalists as targets of war;
- It bombs schools, hospitals, humanitarian aid centres and religious shrines;
- It has recently kidnapped citizens from several countries in international waters, most of them Europeans, including a sitting MEP;
- During their detention, the crew were tortured and forced into an unjustified deportation.
In the face of all this, nothing has been done by the EU to distance itself from or condemn this list of inhumane acts and successive violations that has made Israel a pariah state in the eyes of civil society worldwide, leading to a general discrediting of the institutions and the seriousness of European values, particularly those of respect for human dignity and respect for human rights.
Not satisfied with the level of transgressions reached, Israel decided to attack another sovereign state, basing itself on a UN IAEA report, whose conclusions contradict the thesis that Israel has been propagating since 1995, to claim casus belli based on the right to defence. The US validated this war by entering it on 22 June. After the US bombings, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared on social media, reinforcing other interventions that had already been made: "Iran must never acquire the bomb. With tensions in the Middle East at a new high, stability must be the priority. And respect for international law is crucial. Now is the time for Iran to engage in a credible diplomatic solution. The negotiating table is the only place to end this crisis." These statements not only legitimise Israel's behaviour, they also misinterpret international law.
The President of the European Commission knows perfectly well that the IAEA report concluded that there was no evidence of a coordinated effort by the Iranian regime to produce nuclear warheads. The said violation of international law is not even acceptable given that the US, of its own volition, pulled out of the non-proliferation agreement in 2018. In addition, von der Leyen is aware that, under international law, states' right to national defence cannot be exercised pre-emptively. Otherwise, it would justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which, as we all know, is invalid and illegitimate.
What is happening calls into question the values and existence of the EU itself. We have witnessed a President of the Commission who has done nothing to stop the barbarity in Gaza, who has legitimised by silence or inaction all the violations of international law committed by Israel, and who is now using it as an argument to justify attacks on Iran.
By following this line of support and argumentation, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is setting a series of dangerous precedents that call into question the international and diplomatic law and behaviour that she should be defending and respecting:
- It proves to Iran that the only guarantee of defence is through the acquisition of nuclear weapons, especially dangerous when we are talking about an autocratic regime;
- The association with the procedures adopted by our ally the USA, and by our "partner" Israel, constitute Iran's justification, through its right to Defence, for an escalation of the conflict and an increase in animosity and hostility in the diplomatic field;
- It shows that international law has no validity, that there is no condemnation of the aggression perpetrated by Israel and the US, and that any country has the right to invoke the right to defence to start a war of aggression.
With the statements made on behalf of Europeans, which we condemn, and with the vulnerabilities that the President has unleashed on the Union and the International Community through her actions, we conclude that Ursula von der Leyen's conditions and credibility for continuing in office are exhausted.
At this point, there is only one way to preserve the dignity of the institutions:
- the immediate suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement through the provisions of Article 2, and the application of the appropriate sanctions. For this to happen, it is imperative that European leaders live up to their role and the values and history they represent, and respect the conclusions of the EU's own report - which, moreover, corroborates previous reports by the UN, NGOs, etc.
- the removal of Ursula von der Leyen and her executive by voting in favour of a Motion of No-Confidence against the current European Commission, for damaging governance, for failing to respect the fundamental values of the institutions she represents and, as such, for severely discrediting them during her term in office.
Therefore, although the motion of no-confidence to be voted on Thursday, 10 July, is based on criticisms such as “Pfizergate”, I believe it is vital to refocus public and political attention on the issue of Gaza and European impunity, not missing this crucial opportunity to morally and politically delegitimise the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen, who I believe is unfit to continue her mandate.
The motion of no-confidence on 10 July is not just about Von der Leyen — it is about saying enough is enough to Europe's complicity in the genocide in Gaza. Every MEP has a choice: to vote for justice or for a shameful history, and those who are undecided will pay a moral and reputational price.
I therefore urge you, for the sake of human rights and the restoration of the credibility of the European institutions, to vote YES to the motion of no-confidence against the current European Commission, and that through this mechanism, Ursula von der Leyen be removed from office.
Yours sincerely,
[Place, Date]
[Full Name]