France’s EU Commissioner resigns after dispute with von der Leyen

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 said in a letter to the Commission President, which he published on the online service X.

Von der Leyen had previously decided that France would propose another candidate for the next Commission.

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

Breton was previously responsible for the EU’s industrial and digital policy as Internal Market Commissioner in Brussels and campaigned, among other things, for stronger regulation of large digital companies such as Google, Apple and Meta. French President Emmanuel Macron officially nominated him for a second term as EU Commissioner in July. However, the relationship between Breton and von der Leyen has long been considered strained.

The re-elected Commission President had asked the member states to propose one man and one woman for the position in the Commission. However, in addition to France, more than half of the 27 EU states did not comply with this requirement. Von der Leyen will announce the composition of the new Commission on Tuesday in Strasbourg. The designated Commissioners must then face a hearing before the European Parliament.