European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is likely to face a motion of censure over the Mercosur trade deal in the coming weeks, according to the far-right Patriots for Europe group.

The chair of the Patriots, French heavyweight Jordan Bardella, announced the motion of censure plan on Thursday evening on X. His party, the National Rally, opposes the trade agreement between the EU and the South American Mercosur bloc, which has been championed by von der Leyen. A qualified majority of EU member countries on Friday approved the long-awaited trade deal, which France opposed. 

“Hope we file it [the censure motion] for a vote this January session,” a senior Patriots official told POLITICO.

Once filed, the Parliament’s legal team will check the motion, and if approved, Parliament President Roberta Metsola will contact all MEPs with the details.

If the choreography of previous censure motions is followed, a debate is likely to be held on Monday, Jan. 19, with a vote on Thursday, Jan. 22.

Scheduling a motion of censure requires the backing of 72 lawmakers. As the Patriots have 82 MEPs, they do not need the support of other political groups.

The motion — which, if successful, would see von der Leyen and all 26 of her commissioners dismissed — is almost certain to fail, as it would require a two-thirds majority of votes cast.

There have been three previous attempts to bring down von der Leyen through votes of no-confidence — two brought by the far right and one by the far left. All have failed.

Bardella also accused French President Emmanuel Macron of being a hypocrite by pretending to oppose the Mercosur deal and “betraying French farmers” by not doing enough to stop it.

Bardella said the National Rally would submit a motion of no confidence against the French government.