As we pointed out when the motion of censure was voted last July, there is no lack of valid reasons to censure the European Commission – a censure that reality continues to demand.

In line with aspects contained in the motion of censure that was signed by members of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left – The Left in the European Parliament and which will be put to the vote this week – such as the rejection of the EU-US trade agreement and the EU-Mercosur agreement; or the condemnation of the European Commission's stance on the Israeli government's brutal military aggression and systematic violations of international and humanitarian law; and the European Commission's social and environmental policy – it nevertheless contains significant omissions, despite the proposals repeatedly put forward by João Oliveira, PCP MEP, to remedy them, namely:

- It omits the EU's militaristic policy, in association with the US and NATO, including with regard to the increase in military spending, actively promoted by the European Commission, as well as the fundamental issue of defending Peace and security in Europe.

- It omits the neoliberal nature of EU policies, actively promoted by the European Commission, as well as who is harmed by them, the workers and peoples, and who benefits from them, the economic and financial groups;

- It makes no mention of the Palestinian people in the recitals or in the text of the article, incomprehensibly choosing not to specify who is the victim of the genocide carried out by Israel;

- It fails to denounce the hypocrisy of the European Commission with regard to the defence of human rights and international law, which is shockingly exposed in its stance on the genocide of the Palestinian people and the brutal disregard for their rights.

These are issues that should not be omitted from a motion of censure. However, given the need to secure the 72 signatures required in the European Parliament to table a motion of censure against the European Commission, João Oliveira, MEP for the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), not only voted in favour but also signed this motion.

As we pointed out when voting on the motion of censure on July 10, the situation in the European Union is particularly serious as a result of its insistence on pursuing policies that serve the interests of economic and financial groups and the major powers, and promote confrontation and war at international level, at the expense of the rights and living conditions of workers and peoples, as well as peace and cooperation.

The European Commission deserves to be censured for its shocking and unacceptable complicity in the genocide of the Palestinian people and the criminal policy of occupation and aggression carried out with impunity by Israel in Palestine and the Middle East, revealing a profound hypocrisy in the absence of any effective action by the European Union to make Israel put an end to the massacres, the cruel blockade of the Gaza Strip, the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories and the violation of international law.

The European Commission deserves censure for its policy of attacking social and labour rights, putting pressure on wages and pensions, attacking public healthcare, education and social security services; for its policy of promoting liberalisation and privatisation processes; for its commitment to policies responsible for increasing housing costs and, in general, for increasing the cost of living.

The European Commission deserves censure for its policy of promoting an arms race and increasing military spending, bowing to the dictates of the US and NATO. This policy poses an increased threat to peace and security and diverts towards militarism and war billions of euros that are needed to solve problems and improve the living conditions of workers and peoples.

A European Commission that coexists well with the far right, both within the European Union and internationally, with which it shares neoliberal, militaristic policies that roll back rights and freedoms – witness, among others, the example of Meloni's government in Italy. The reasons for our criticism of the European Commission are clearly distinct and cannot therefore be confused with those of sectors of the far right which, while fundamentally sharing the neoliberal, militaristic policies of the European Union that roll back rights and freedoms, and which the European Commission promotes, demagogically and opportunistically pretend to distance themselves from it.

Censure of the European Commission means rejection of its programme and political objectives, which we also expressed in our vote against its election in November 2024.

People need better wages and pensions, access to healthcare, education, social protection, housing, solutions to environmental problems, economies geared towards improving their living conditions, peace and cooperation.

By affirming policies that serve the rights, interests and aspirations of workers and peoples, we do not give up any opportunity to express our rejection of the policies of the European Union, promoted by the European Commission, nor do we give up, as we have done until now, affirming the alternative path that the Portuguese people urgently need, in a Europe of peace, cooperation between sovereign states with equal rights, and social progress.