It was considered a given: Frenchman Thierry Breton will not be elected EU Commissioner again. Instead, a new candidate from Paris is running.
Shortly before the presentation of the new team for the EU Commission, the current French Commissioner Thierry Breton unexpectedly resigned. In a letter published on Platform X, he cited differences with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as the reason. Breton was previously Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services. The new candidate from Paris will be acting Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné.
In the letter, Breton accused von der Leyen of having asked France a few days ago to withdraw his name for the new Commission – and for personal reasons that she had not discussed directly with him. The Frenchman went on to write that he must resign as EU Commissioner with immediate effect “in view of these recent developments, which represent further evidence of questionable governance”.
Von der Leyen’s new Commission is to be presented this week in the EU Parliament in Strasbourg. Breton was considered a given – and it was expected that he would again be given an important portfolio.
French President Emmanuel Macron has now proposed Séjourné for the position. Séjourné was chairman of the liberal Renew group in the European Parliament during the last legislative period before moving to Paris as Foreign Minister at the beginning of the year.
Macron thanks Breton
A statement from the Élysée Palace said that Séjourné met all the necessary criteria. Macron expressed his thanks to Breton and described him as a “remarkable EU Commissioner”. He had made a major contribution to promoting a European sovereignty policy in digital policy and making the EU internal market more resilient during the Corona crisis. He did not comment on a possible conflict with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
A spokeswoman for the EU Commission said that von der Leyen acknowledged the resignation and thanked Breton for his work as commissioner throughout his term in office. The spokeswoman did not want to comment on the harsh accusations against the German. There had already been trouble between von der Leyen and Macron in the wake of the appointment of former French economics minister Breton as Internal Market Commissioner in 2019. And during his term in office, he also frequently publicly criticized von der Leyen.
Too much focus on national interests?
In Berlin and other European capitals, Breton’s departure is unlikely to be viewed with great regret. Government representatives have repeatedly accused the Frenchman in the past of one-sidedly representing the economic interests of his home country, even though Commission representatives are supposed to act independently of the national interests of individual governments. In addition, Breton’s recent uncoordinated confrontation with the US tech billionaire Elon Musk was viewed critically.
Selection of the Commission as the last major step
The EU Commission’s leadership is responsible for around 32,000 employees, who, among other things, make proposals for new EU laws and monitor compliance with the European treaties. The selection of commissioners for the new EU Commission is the last major step in filling top political positions after the European elections in June.
Von der Leyen also wants to ensure gender parity when filling the positions. She therefore wrote to the heads of state and government of the EU countries asking them to propose both a man and a woman for the commissioner posts. However, most EU member states resisted von der Leyen’s request and nominated only one candidate for the Commission – the majority of whom were male.
Gender parity in the Commission
There were exceptions for EU countries that wanted to nominate their incumbent EU Commissioner – like Breton – for another term. The EU treaties do not stipulate that member states must nominate a man and a woman.
Shortly afterwards, von der Leyen was nominated by the heads of state and government of the EU countries for a second term as president of the powerful authority and elected by the European Parliament. After the nomination process for the commissioners, she must now assign them areas of responsibility.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
