Thierry Breton, France’s influential European commissioner, has quit his role with a scathing assessment of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, accusing her of undermining him and of “questionable government”.
Mr Breton’s announcement in a letter shared on X will come as a huge blow to the former German Defence Minister and EU chief as she struggles to preserve unity days before she unveils her new Commission.
He wrote: “A few days ago, in the very final stretch of negotiations on the composition of the future College, you asked France to withdraw my name – for personal reasons that in no instance you have discussed directly with me.
“Over the past five years, I have relentlessly striven to uphold and advance the common European good, above national and party interests. It has been an honour.
“However, in light of these latest developments – further testimony to questionable governance – I have to conclude that I can no longer exercise my duties in the College.”
Commenting on his letter, he added: “I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my colleagues in the College, Commission services, MEPs, Member States, and my team.
“Together, we have worked tirelessly to advance an ambitious EU agenda.
“It has been an honour & privilege to serve the common European interest.”
Mr Breton is the current Commissioner for Internal Market, having served as France’s Finance Minister from 2005 to 2007.
The move potentially throws a spanner in the works as Ms von der Leyen tries to construct a gender-balanced College of Commissioners.
Thus far countries including Slovenia and Romania have pulled out male candidates after being pressurised from Ms von der Leyen to replace them with woman.
Mr Breton accused von der Leyen of trying similar tactics with France by offering Mr Macron more influential portfolio if he agreed to switch candidates.
The issue is already a significant bone of contention, with a senior official from Mr Macron’s party warning: “France is not satisfied with the portfolio scope allocated to Thierry Breton.”
Ms von der Leyen has been in her job since 2019, having replaced Jean Claude Juncker, and was re-elected for a second five-year term in June.
She is a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its affiliated europarty, the European People’s Party (EPP).
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