PARIS\/BRUSSELS: Thierry Breton of France stepped down as a member of the European Commission on Monday and said he would no longer be his country\u2019s candidate for the next EU executive body, in an unexpected twist in the highly political EU power transition.
\nBreton, one of the highest-profile members of the European Commission for the past five years, is best known for sparring publicly with tech billionaire Elon Musk and playing a key role in shaping the 27-nation EU\u2019s Big Tech regulation, its COVID-vaccine response and efforts to boost defense industries.
\nA former French minister and industrialist, Breton announced his resignation on X as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen prepares to announce this week who will be part of her new five-year team.
\nIn his resignation letter, Breton alleged that von der Leyen \u201ca few days ago\u201d had asked France to withdraw his name as its pick for the Commission \u201cfor personal reasons\u201d in return for an \u201callegedly more influential portfolio.\u201d
\nHe said France would indeed suggest another name in a rare last-minute change.
\n\u201cIn light of these latest developments \u2014 further testimony to questionable governance \u2014 I have to conclude that I can no longer exercise my duties in the College,\u201d Breton said in the letter.
\nReuters was unable to immediately verify the allegation. Von der Leyen\u2019s office declined to make any immediate comment.
\nBreton, a former business executive, was the EU\u2019s industry and internal market commissioner during her first term.
\nHis and von der Leyen\u2019s relationship had taken a turn for the worse over recent months. The French commissioner, a liberal, had angered von der Leyen by publicly criticizing her nomination as the European conservative EPP\u2019s party candidate to head the Commission for a second term, EU officials have said.
\nBreton\u2019s public feuds with Musk had also been met with dismay among other Commission colleagues, officials added.
\nKey jobs
\nAs the EU\u2019s second-biggest member state, France is vying for a major post in the new Commission team, which follows on European Parliament elections in June \u2014 the starting point every five years for a shake-up of key jobs in EU institutions that have a major impact on policymaking across the bloc.
\nEach EU member state will have one seat at the Commission\u2019s table, although their political weight and importance varies greatly depending on the portfolio.
\nHaving to replace Breton is likely to add to French President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s woes at a time when he is still trying to pull together a government at home with new Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
\nThe French presidency did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS\/BRUSSELS: Thierry Breton of France stepped down as a member of the European Commission on Monday and said he would no longer be his country\u2019s candidate for the next EU executive body, in an unexpected twist in the highly political EU power transition. Breton, one of the highest-profile members of the European Commission for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431564,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-431552","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n