Anger at von der Leyen EU Commissioner Thierry Breton resigns
The French EU Commissioner Thierry Breton has surprisingly announced his immediate resignation. The reason for this is said to be differences with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Commission.
16.09.2024, 10:43
16.09.2024, 10:50
SDA
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- French EU Commissioner Thierry Breton is resigning.
- The reason for this is said to be differences with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
- He published an explanation in a letter on Platform X.
French EU Commissioner Thierry Breton has surprisingly announced his immediate resignation. In a letter published on Platform X, he cited differences with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as the reason.
The German is in the final stages of putting together the Commission for her second term as head of the Brussels authority. Breton was previously Commissioner for Internal Market and Services.
In the letter, Breton accused von der Leyen of having asked France a few days ago to withdraw his name for the new Commission - for personal reasons that she had not discussed directly with him. The Frenchman went on to write that "in view of these recent developments, which constitute further evidence of questionable governance", he must resign as EU Commissioner with immediate effect.
Von der Leyen's new Commission is due to be presented to the EU Parliament in Strasbourg this week. Breton was considered to be a shoo-in - and it was expected that he would once again be given an important portfolio.
Around 32,000 employees report to the leadership of the EU Commission, whose tasks include making proposals for new EU laws and monitoring compliance with the European treaties.
Breton was repeatedly criticized
There had already been trouble between von der Leyen and Macron following the appointment of former French Economy Minister Breton as Internal Market Commissioner in 2019. There was initially no reaction to Breton's withdrawal from the Élysée Palace in Paris. Von der Leyen also did not comment at first.
Breton's departure is unlikely to be viewed with any particular regret in the European capitals. In the past, government representatives had repeatedly accused the Frenchman of unilaterally representing the economic policy interests of his home country, although Commission representatives are actually supposed to act independently of the national interests of individual governments. Breton was also criticized, for example, for recently clashing with US tech billionaire Elon Musk without consulting him.
