STRASBOURG ― Lawmakers from Ursula von der Leyen’s European People’s Party are threatening to torpedo two of the European Commission president’s landmark legislative plans, complicating her fight to assert her authority atop the EU’s most powerful body.

The center-right EPP, which is the largest group in the European Parliament, has been haggling with the Commission, which it also dominates, over von der Leyen’s proposed overhaul of the way the EU spends money from its seven-year budget. It also wants to water down her pledge to cut planet-warming emissions by 2040.

These latest flashpoints highlight von der Leyen’s fragile position as she braces for two no-confidence votes in the Parliament on Thursday. While she’s expected to survive comfortably, her position has come under attack from across the political spectrum. The difficulties posed by her own side are proving tougher to solve than facing down criticism from rivals.

The disagreement focuses on pooling agriculture subsidies and funds for Europe’s poorest regions into single pots controlled by national capitals, which critics say would mean less money for farmers and less oversight from local authorities. 

Issues among friends

The discontent has been brewing since July, when von der Leyen published her plan for the budget, which will run for seven years from 2028. Lawmakers from the EPP and the Socialists and Democrats have since threatened to reject the parts of it they don’t like and demand a redraft.

EPP chief Manfred Weber, trying to bridge the divide within his party, described this week’s disagreements as “discussing the issues among friends.”

But he didn’t shy away from explaining why von der Leyen’s proposals had upset sections of his own side.

“We are a mayor’s party so we have the overwhelming part of our mayors and regional leaders in the EPP family ― and we are also a farmers’ party,” he said. “And in both aspects, we are not yet fully satisfied with the national reform program, where we concentrate decisions on the EU budget in the capitals.”

To quell the brewing revolt, the Commission has now agreed to hold formal talks with key members of the EPP. Budget commissioner Piotr Serafin, agriculture chief Christophe Hansen and regions commissioner Raffaele Fitto pledged to set up dedicated working groups with EPP MEPs Karlo Ressler, Herbert Dorfmann and Andrey Novakov on agriculture, payments to poorer regions, and the overall structure of the budget.

 “There’s a problem with the architecture” of the Commission’s proposal, “it’s simply not good,” EPP agriculture coordinator Dorfmann told POLITICO. “Every other coordinator in the agri committee, not just me, opposes it. We’re the lawmakers. If the Commission proposes something without a majority, it has to change.” 

A meeting of group budget and agriculture lead lawmakers with Serafin and Christophe on Tuesday turned heated, according to two EPP officials with knowledge of the discussions. A late dinner that same day with Serafin, Hansen, party bosses and von der Leyen herself did little to cool tempers, they said.

“Manfred invited Serafin and Hansen to put some pressure on us — the Baltic states, Bulgaria, Romania, and Poland, and others — as we are all pushing for a rejection [of the national plans],” said an EPP official.

At the Tuesday afternoon meeting, several MEPs told the commissioners they’d reject the proposal outright. A visibly frustrated Hansen warned them “if you reject it, don’t expect more money for agriculture,” according to two Parliament officials with knowledge of the discussions.

The EPP argues the proposal for fusing all pots into a single one managed by central governments sidelines regional leaders, makes farmers poorer and weakens oversight of how EU money is spent.

Two EPP officials said they’re leaning toward rejecting the plan — potentially via a resolution at the next session of the Parliament later this month.

“There are two options: We reject it, and the Commission takes it back and re-proposes something new,” said one of the EPP officials. “Or [MEPs] try to rebuild it internally through the normal amendment process.”

A third official cautioned that, while they “don’t rule out a rebellion,” it is also possible that ultimately the Commission just makes some “cosmetic changes,” such as adding guarantees that certain amount of the funds will be earmarked for farmers, to appease the lawmakers. “Nothing is decided.”

Emissions reduction

As if one internal fight wasn’t enough, the EPP top brass, including Weber, met Wednesday to decide to what extent they will seek to water down the 2040 climate target.

The EU is under pressure to agree on a 2040 goal before the COP30 climate summit in Brazil in November, or it runs the risk of weakening its position in international climate talks.

Von der Leyen pledged in her annual State of the Union address to lawmakers in September to “stay the course” on climate policy, which includes agreeing a target for 2040, and to double down on her efforts to protect European industrial strongholds and help them decarbonize.

Following Wednesday’s meeting, the EPP remains divided on this: Some want to scrap the 90 percent emissions-reduction goal altogether, others just want to lower it.

“There’s no majority for a 90 percent cut,” EPP climate lead Peter Liese wrote earlier this week. A “good compromise,” he said, would be something “slightly below 90 percent.”

The meeting was particularly tense, according to an EPP official, illustrating the deep divisions running through the center-right faction. It ended with no agreement and some MEPs storming off, the official added.

The EPP is split because it fears losing voters to the far-right if it continues to push for additional climate efforts as backlash against the Green Deal continues.

But the EPP’s indecision is stalling negotiations in Parliament, running the risk of the EU showing up empty-handed at COP30.

The group will now seek to delay two committee votes on the topic that were scheduled for next week in the industry and transport committees, a second EPP official said, adding that they will pause any internal deliberations until EU leaders provide input at their next gathering in Brussels on Oct. 23

Bartosz Brzeziński contributed to the reporting.