France's EU Commissioner resigns after dispute with von der Leyen | EUROtoday

In a dispute with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French EU Commissioner Thierry Breton resigned on Monday. “I am resigning from my position as European Commissioner with immediate effect,” Breton stated in a letter to the Commission President, which he revealed on the net service X.

Von der Leyen had beforehand requested France to suggest one other candidate for the following Commission.

“A few days ago, in the final stages of negotiations on the future college, you asked France to withdraw my name – for personal reasons that you never discussed with me personally,” Breton stated in his letter. He accused von der Leyen of getting provided France “a supposedly more influential portfolio” within the new Commission in return.

Breton was beforehand chargeable for the EU's industrial and digital coverage as Internal Market Commissioner in Brussels and campaigned, amongst different issues, for stronger regulation of huge digital firms similar to Google, Apple and Meta. French President Emmanuel Macron formally nominated him for a second time period as EU Commissioner in July. However, the connection between Breton and von der Leyen has lengthy been thought of strained.

The re-elected Commission President had requested the member states to suggest one man and one girl for the place within the Commission. However, along with France, greater than half of the 27 EU states didn’t adjust to this requirement. Von der Leyen plans to announce the composition of the brand new Commission on Tuesday in Strasbourg. The designated Commissioners should then face a listening to earlier than the European Parliament.