European Parliament to vote on sacking entire Commission
The European Parliament is voting today on a motion to sack Jean-Claude Juncker's European Commission.
Seventy-six MEPs put forward a motion of censure against Mr Juncker because of the allegations that emerged from the so-called Lux-leaks - recent media investigations into secret tax deals between Luxembourg and international corporations.
Mr Juncker was Luxembourg’s Prime Minister during the years these deals were allegedly done.
He is expected to survive the vote.
However Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness said the move was a sign of changing political times in the EU.
"The European Parliament is fractured into very different groups - some who want to pull Europe apart (and) others who want to rebuild it," she said.
"The fact that we have a motion of censure on the entire Commission is unprecedented. My hope is the vote will be strongly in favour of the Commission."
The European Parliament has three main roles - debating and passing European laws, with the Council; scrutinising other EU institutions, particularly the Commission, to make sure they are working democratically and debating and adopting the EU's budget, with the Council.
The European Commission manages the day-to-day business of implementing EU policies and spending EU funds.
The appointment of all Commissioners, including the President (currently Jean-Claude Juncker), is subject to the approval of the European Parliament.
