Ursula von der Leyen prepares to announce new European Commission
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will announce her new leadership team to the European Parliament on September 17, following the sudden and angry resignation of France's Thierry Breton.
The former EU Internal Market Commissioner said in a resignation letter on social network X (formerly known as Twitter) that Ms. von der Leyen asked Paris to nominate someone else in exchange for “what was supposed to be a more influential portfolio for France” in the EU executive. Breton, who holds the position of French commissioner, said this “political agreement” was made “for personal reasons without a single time” Ms. von der Leyen speaking directly to him.
The former candidate for France, who has been openly critical of Ms von der Leyen's leadership in the recent European Parliament elections, said it was "further evidence of the questionable governance" of the commission.
The German conservative politician is often criticized by opponents for her authoritarian approach to running the European Union's executive branch.
A commission spokesman declined to comment on the public content of Mr Breton's letter and the attacks on Ms von der Leyen's leadership.
Mr Breton's surprise resignation has fuelled speculation as Ms von der Leyen grapples with EU states over policy portfolios, trying to balance geographical and political factors.
The process was delayed due to an internal political dispute in Slovenia regarding the nomination of a candidate to the commission.
There is also the issue of which position on the commission the Italian candidate, Raffaele Fitto, from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party, will be appointed.
Prime Minister Meloni does not support Ms. von der Leyen for a second term in the commission, but Ms. von der Leyen needs to consider the risk that Italy could continue to move to the far right, as opposed to the EU as Hungary.
Complicating matters is Ms von der Leyen's request that EU member states nominate one man and one woman for roles on the commission, in a bid to achieve gender balance among her 26 commissioners.
The commission president has made an exception to this requirement for EU countries that want to nominate their incumbent European commissioner, as was the case with Mr Breton, for another term.
However, most EU member states ignored Ms von der Leyen's request and nominated only one candidate to the commission, the majority of whom were men.
There is no legal requirement in the EU treaties to nominate one male and one female candidate.
After Mr Breton's surprise resignation, the Élysée Palace announced the nomination of Stéphane Séjourné, the outgoing French foreign minister. Paris did not nominate a woman to replace Mr Breton.
