France changes its candidate for the new EU Commission at the last minute. This causes bad blood in Brussels.
He was one of the most important and powerful EU commissioners. Thierry Breton procured vaccines against Corona, secured artillery ammunition for Ukraine and pushed forward internet regulation in Europe.
But the “bulldozer” Breton will no longer be a member of the new EU Commission, which is due to start work in December. After a short but heated argument with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, he surprisingly announced his resignation on Monday.
Shortly afterwards, the former French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné was nominated as his successor. Séjourné had exactly the right profile, declared the Elysée Palace in Paris. Even long-serving EU officials rubbed their eyes in amazement. Never before had one of the most important players been substituted so quickly just before kick-off.
On Tuesday, von der Leyen wants to present her new team in Strasbourg, which should also include Breton. Now he is missing from the list. His departure not only comes at the last minute, it also raises uncomfortable questions.
Many questions, one accusation
Why did the powerful competition commissioner have to go? Why is French President Emmanuel Macron replacing him, even though he nominated him for a second term in office in June? What role does von der Leyen play? Did she offer Macron a deal – along the lines of: you’ll get a more influential post in Brussels if you send me a new commissioner?
This is exactly what Breton accuses his former boss of. She colluded with Macron behind his back to get rid of him. Breton finds it particularly shabby that she allegedly gave personal reasons for this, because she never spoke to him about it. The opaque process is “further evidence of questionable leadership,” Breton complains in his resignation letter, which he published on “X”.
This is not the first time that complaints have been made in the Commission about the boss’s lack of leadership skills. Breton and three other EU Commissioners had already complained about the German CDU politician in March. The reason was the controversial nomination of CDU politician Markus Pieper as the EU Commission’s new SME representative.
Shortly before the European elections, “Piepergate” caused so much commotion that von der Leyen finally had to backtrack and restart the application process. She has clearly not learned much from it. Because now she is again being accused of a lack of transparency. And now she is also lacking political leadership.
The nomination is “not a public process” but will be discussed confidentially with the heads of state and government of the EU member states, von der Leyen’s spokespersons said in Brussels on Monday. They did not want to comment on the question of why Breton had to go.
Now speculation is rife. One theory is that Macron wanted to secure an important portfolio in the new EU Commission and was prepared to sacrifice Breton for this. This is supported by the speed with which Macron conjured up the replacement Séjourné.
Another assumption is that Breton has simply become too powerful for von der Leyen. She took advantage of the situation – there is currently a government crisis in Paris – to get rid of the unpopular Frenchman.
But if it was meant to be a liberating move, it has backfired. “The nomination of the new European Commission is slowly degenerating into absurd theatre,” wrote the head of the Trade Committee in the European Parliament, Bernd Lange (SPD). Other EU MPs expressed similar views.
They could cause von der Leyen some trouble. The new commissioners will have to face detailed hearings in the European Parliament in the autumn – and may fail.
