France’s Thierry Breton yesterday announced he was quitting the European Commission with immediate effect, claiming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had asked Paris to withdraw his candidacy for the incoming executive.
The shock resignation of the bloc’s powerful internal market commissioner comes a day before Von der Leyen was expected to unveil the makeup of her next commission, following EU-wide elections in June.
French President Emmanuel Macron had put forward Breton’s name for France’s spot on the commission, and his reappointment to a major role — reflecting the country’s weight within the 27-nation EU — had been taken as a given.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“In the very final stretch of negotiations on the composition of the future College, you asked France to withdraw my name,” Breton wrote in a letter to Von der Leyen, posted on X.
The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Breton, whose strained relationship with his EU boss was no secret during her first five-year mandate, said the request was made “for personal reasons that in no instance you have discussed directly with me.”
He said Von der Leyen had “offered, as a political trade-off, an allegedly more influential portfolio for France in the future College.”
“You will now be proposed a different candidate,” he said.
“In light of these latest developments — further testimony to questionable governance — I have to conclude that I can no longer exercise my duties in the College,” Breton wrote.
“I am therefore resigning from my position as European Commissioner, effective immediately,” he wrote
Breton has been the bloc’s internal market commissioner since 2019 and has taken a hard line against abuses by the world’s biggest digital platforms.
His portfolio also included defense and space, overseeing a defense industry push and marshalling the production of COVID-19 jabs.
The former France Telecom CEO had been tipped to get a promotion to be a commission vice president stewarding industrial growth.
The 69-year-old was seen by Paris as a key counterweight to Berlin’s influence at the heart of the EU.
“Over the past five years, I have relentlessly striven to uphold and advance the common European good, above national and party interests,” Breton wrote in announcing his resignation.
“It has been an honour,” he added.
The centrist Breton has been outspoken in challenging von der Leyen — and caused a stir earlier this year by publicly questioning the depth of support for her re-election within her center-right European People’s Party.
Breton was also one of four commissioners who questioned her “transparency and impartiality” over the appointment of a political ally to a highly-paid post as small and medium-sized enterprises envoy.
“It shows her strength to kill ‘powerful’ Breton,” one EU diplomat said. “He would not have resigned if Macron had not agreed to change candidates.”
“So he lost,” the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity, and “she comes out stronger out of this.”
French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed Stephane Sejourne, the nation’s outgoing foreign minister and a close political ally, to replace Breton as its EU commissioner, Macron’s office said yesterday.
Von der Leyen has been leaning on member countries to put forward more women to make up the bloc’s executive arm, after most — including France — ignored her request to offer a choice of male or female candidates.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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