Thierry Breton leaves behind debris, or at least tries to. Internal market commissioner Thierry Breton tendered his resignation, firing back at her Ursula von der Leyenwhich, as he states in his letter to the president of the Commission, asked the French president Emmanuel Macron to withdraw his candidacy with the promise of a stronger portfolio.
Their strained relationships
Thierry Breton and Ursula von der Leyen never had the best of relations with the French until the former commissioner directly and openly attacked the Commission president during the election campaign. But then it appeared that Ursula von der Leyen had accepted Thierry Breton to be France’s candidate again, receiving Macron’s support for a second term at the head of the European Commission.
With Paris and Emmanuel Macron of course in the throes of Marine Le Pen’s extreme right, Ursula von der Leyen may have found a way to “get Thierry Breton out of the way”, sources in Brussels say.
The Commission, for its part, does not comment on the content of Breton’s letter, while the Deputy Chief Representative of the Commission, Arianna Podesta, emphasized that “the President of the Commission is focusing on the future and to start working with the new House of Commissioners as soon as possible”.
Substitute Stephane Cezournet
Only a few hours have passed since Breton’s resignation and the French president presented the new commissioner candidate. It is about the outgoing minister of European affairs, Stéphane Cezournet. However, to complete the puzzle, the question of Slovenia remains. The European affairs committee of the Slovenian parliament has not yet met to officially announce the candidacy of Marta Kos.
The Prime Minister of the country, Golob, assures that there are the necessary documents requested by the committee in question, which is notably led by an ally of the former nationalist Prime Minister, Yanes Jansa, but for now no compromise solution has been found.
Therefore, it remains to be seen whether Ursula von der Leyen will speak tomorrow morning at the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament in Strasbourg since, with the current data, she will not have officially collected the nominations of all member states.
Of course, it is not excluded that he presents the mission and role of each portfolio which is required anyway along with the name of the commissioner-designate so that the EP can prepare for the hearings and give specific dates. However, it remains to be seen whether November 4th for the start of the hearings remains a possible date.
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