BRUSSELS LETTER
This is unprecedented. Since September 16 and the resounding resignation of Thierry Breton, France no longer has a European commissioner in Brussels. Stéphane Séjourné, whom Emmanuel Macron finally preferred for the second term of Ursula von der Leyen, president of the Commission, will not take up the position before 1Ahem December. Probably.
“Even during the empty chairs crisis”when Charles de Gaulle suspended France’s participation in the meetings of the Council of Ministers of the EEC, “France had one commissioner, even two”as the treaties provided for at the time, recalls Laurent Warlouzet, professor of European history at the Sorbonne University.
Today France lives its European life with complete normality. The president attends the summits of the twenty-seven heads of State and Government, the ministers participate in the councils of ministers and the ambassador to the European Union (EU) does not miss a meeting with his counterparts. But the French commissioner is missing from the university table.
In fact, the Lithuanian Virginijus Sinkevicius, responsible for the environment and oceans, and the Romanian Adina Valean, responsible for transport, left their positions without having been replaced. “I don’t remember a large country without a commissioner”insists a French diplomat, specialist in European affairs, who sees the current situation “Another sign of France’s loss of influence on the community scene”.
“Transitional period”
In theory, the treaties are clear: a commissioner is independent, he does not represent a country or defend its interests. In practice, this same source responds, “The French commissioner is responsible for part of the national interests. This is reality”. In any case, we have never seen a French commissioner who does not defend the interests of nuclear energy or farmers in Brussels.
When Thierry Breton resigned, the question of his replacement was not raised, waiting for Stéphane Séjourné to succeed him. After all, at the Elysée we follow community affairs closely, especially because it is about not leaving any space for the Prime Minister, Michel Barnier. The president and his advisors maintain regular contacts with their counterparts, while the permanent representation in Brussels carries out its monitoring role. And at the Commission, Emmanuel Macron maintains close relations with Ursula von der Leyen, who also agreed to make Alexandre Adam, one of her former advisors, her deputy chief of staff.
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