The Commissioner for the Internal Market and until this Monday France’s candidate for re-election to the new Community Executive, Thierry Bretonannounced his resignation “immediately” and accused the president of the European Commission, the German Ursula von der Leyento put pressure on France behind its back to impose a change of candidate in exchange for a more important portfolio for this country.
“In light of these recent events, further evidence of questionable governance, I must conclude that I cannot continue to exercise my functions at the College,” Breton deplores in his press release. resignation letter addressed to Von der Leyen and which he himself shared on social media. In a message a few minutes earlier, the politician and businessman had published a blank canvas under the phrase: “Scoop: My official portrait for the next mandate of the European Commission”.
Breton’s announcement comes just 24 hours after the meeting scheduled for Tuesday in Strasbourg (France) between Von der Leyen and the Conference of Presidents (CoP) of the European Parliament, in which Germany was to announce its proposal for a new college of commissioners.
Breton’s departure could, however, change the agenda and force a new postponement, even if for the moment nor Von der LeyenNeither French President Emmanuel Macron has reacted to Breton’s departure.
In his letter, Breton informs Von der Leyen that the French government will propose “a different candidate” and reveals that in recent days the head of the Executive asked Macron to remove Breton’s name in exchange for a “more influential” portfolio.
Breton also criticizes Von der Leyen for taking this decision “for personal reasons” that at no time did he address him directly, who was the official candidate of Paris.
In this sense, the liberal politician recalls that when last July Von der Leyen asked the Member States to present her with a male candidate and a female candidate in order to have enough options for compose a common Collegealso clarified that governments choosing to renew their mandate as Commissioners would not be subject to this criterion.
This is the case of Breton, who during this mandate was in charge of the portfolio Internal market and telecommunicationsfrom where he was involved in several controversies with platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and also revealed his disagreements with Von der Leyen.
Already during the campaign for the European elections last June, Breton had taken advantage of his institutional story on X to cast doubt on the EPP’s support for Von der Leyen. “Despite her qualities, Ursula von der Leyen in the minority in his own party,” writes the French liberal, before asking “whether it is possible to trust the EPP again in the management of Europe for another five years.”
Breton was also one of the four commissioners who denounced last April the lack of transparency with which a German MEP from the same party as the head of the Community executive, Markus Pieper (CDU) was promoted to a senior position within the Commission as an envoy for SMEs, although controversy ultimately put the appointment on hold.
