Emmanuel Macron has decided to appoint Thierry Breton to the post of European Commissioner, in the next executive of the European Union (EU) which should take office on 1is november. Thursday June 27, the French president informed the other liberal leaders – the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, the Dutchman Mark Rutte, the Estonian Kaja Kallas, but also the President of the Council, Charles Michel – just before the meeting of European heads of state and government, which was held Thursday afternoon in Brussels, as indicated to the Monde concordant sources.
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Mr. Macron told them of his intention to communicate his choice to the heads of state and government of the Twenty-Seven, gathered to, among other things, reappoint Ursula von der Leyen as head of the European Commission. Thierry Breton, who was present during this announcement, thanked the French president for his confidence.
The French situation undoubtedly played a role in this decision. For the Head of State, it is a question of defending his prerogatives in matters of European policy, in the hypothesis of cohabitation with the National Rally (RN), three days before the first round of the legislative elections, Sunday June 30th. In recent days, Jordan Bardella had assured that the appointment of the French commissioner would be the prerogative of the Prime Minister, which the Elysée contested in the name of a “reserved domain” of the Head of State. By announcing his choice even before the first round, while the RN is given the lead in the opinion polls, Emmanuel Macron takes the lead, whatever the electoral results.
Setting milestones
By announcing on Thursday his wish to appoint Thierry Breton, Emmanuel Macron also wants to lay the groundwork at a time when Ursula von der Leyen, who should be reappointed, is under pressure from all sides to give important positions. Notably by Giorgia Meloni, the president of the Italian council, who intends to make the best use of her support for Angela Merkel’s former minister.
Paris wants a position of executive vice-president of the Commission who would have control over industrial issues of all kinds, from defense to digital technology including green technologies. The Elysée has been imagining its outlines with Thierry Breton for months, without guaranteeing the latter that he would be the holder. “He did the job, he is realistic and pragmatic”judge Valérie Hayer, president of the Renew group.
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“We also needed someone to mark Ursula von der Leyen “with her pants””, explains a European source, while the President of the Commission, once reappointed, could be less sensitive to France’s wishes in the coming months. Between the German federal elections, scheduled for 2025, which could see his friends in the CDU return to power, and a French government which could be very weakened, or even led by the National Rally, his political center could be more German and more to the right . Thierry Breton has shown, in recent years, that he does not spare Ursula von der Leyen, even if it means exasperating her. It remains to be seen what the President of the Commission, who will make the final decision and the choice of portfolio, will say.
