Thierry Breton resigns and pulls out of race for European Commission

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France’s European commissioner for the internal market has resigned and withdrawn his candidacy to serve in a future European Commission, claiming president Ursula von der Leyen offered Paris a more powerful job if French President Emmanuel Macron provided a replacement.

The surprise move by Thierry Breton just 24 hours before von der Leyen was to announce her new slate of commissioners came with a personal attack on her management of the EU’s executive, in the latest blow to her already troubled process of forming a team for the next five-year cycle.

The resignation of one of von der Leyen’s most prominent and outspoken commissioners — he oversaw industrial policy, defence and the bloc’s powerful Digital Services Act that regulates big tech companies — further clouds the start of her second term.

“A few days ago . . . you asked France to withdraw my name — for personal reasons that in no instance you have discussed directly with me — and offered as a political trade-off an allegedly more influential portfolio for France,” Breton said in a letter to von der Leyen posted on X.

Von der Leyen’s actions were “further testimony to questionable governance” of the commission, Breton said, adding that he would resign immediately.

“What a lovely mess,” said one political ally of von der Leyen.

Breton provided no details of the “personal reasons” cited for von der Leyen’s alleged intervention during what he described as “the very final stretch of negotiations of the composition of the future college”, as the commissioners are collectively known in the EU.

It is up to von der Leyen to choose which countries receive which roles in the commission, and many big countries including France and Italy have been lobbying her for a powerful portfolio overseeing industrial and economic policies.

The resignation ends a tumultuous working relationship between von der Leyen and Breton, who often clashed over policies and rhetorical style. He had long chafed at what he saw as her heavy-handed approach to managing the commission, and reluctance to delegate power – or praise – to her commissioners.

Reacting to Breton’s letter to von der Leyen, an EU diplomat said: “No love lost between these two.”

Spokespeople for Breton and von der Leyen did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Breton said France would propose a new candidate, without specifying a timeline.

In France, Macron’s June nomination of Breton for another term as commissioner had raised hackles from opposition parties including the far-right Rassemblement National of Marine Le Pen, who argued Macron should have waited for the outcome of the parliamentary elections in July.

Le Pen’s RN fell short of enough seats in the National Assembly to push its own candidate for French prime minister – but as the largest single political party it now holds some of the balance of power, and the incoming cabinet under the conservative premier Michel Barnier will needs its tacit support to survive. 

Breton comes from the same political family as Barnier, the EU’s former Brexit negotiator, and had previously served as finance minister under the late president Jacques Chirac.

Before Breton’s resignation and withdrawal, several countries had switched their initial candidates for the commission in response to von der Leyen’s pressure on them to nominate women in a bid to produce a gender-balanced college.

It is unclear whether Breton’s move will mean a further delay to the announcement of von der Leyen’s new team of commissioners scheduled for Tuesday. All nominees, one from each of the EU’s 27 member states, must be approved by the European parliament before they can take up their posts.

Slovenia is also yet to formally nominate its candidate for commissioner due to a domestic political spat.