European Parliament Rejects European Commission’s Non-Confidence Motion

A total of 461 European parliament members voted against the European Commission's motion of no confidence with 101 in favor.

BRUSSELS, November 27 (Sputnik) – The European Parliament rejected on Thursday the motion of no confidence against the European Commission led by Jean-Claude Juncker.

A total of 461 European parliament members voted against it with 101 in favor.

The motion of censure, brought by the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) group in the European Parliament, said that Juncker was directly responsible for Luxembourg's tax avoidance policies during his time as the country's prime minister.

In early November, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists uncovered documents revealing some 340 international companies around the world had signed secret deals with Luxembourg allowing them to pay decreased taxes between 2002 and 2010.

Companies such as Pepsi, IKEA, FedEx and Amazon were among those that reached an agreement with Luxembourg authorities.

Juncker, the current European Commission president, served as Luxembourg's prime minister from 1995 to 2013, also occupying the post of president of the Eurogroup, an informal gathering of finance ministers from the eurozone, from 2005 to 2013.

In July, the European Parliament endorsed the nomination of Jean-Claude Juncker for president of the European Commission, replacing Jose Manuel Barroso.