Breton’s out of the picture unblocks Séjourné nomination for the next EC College

French President Emmanuel Macron proposed the incumbent European and Foreign Affairs Minister of his Government, Stèphane Séjourné, as the new name for the post of European commissioner. The move was made public on Monday morning to address Thierry Breton’s decision to get out from the list that the President of the EU Executive, Ursula von der Leyen, is eager to show to the leaders of political groups in the European Parliament.

In a letter sent to von der Leyen and posted on X, Breton announced its resignation as Internal Market Affairs chief at the European Commission and told it to begin immediately. According to the text signed by Breton, von der Leyen asked President Macron to withdraw his name “for personal reasons” and then persuaded the Head of State by offering him “an allegedly more influential portfolio for France in the future College.”

The Berlaymont Palace did not follow up on the allegations of the influence that von der Leyen supposedly exerted in the nomination process and limited itself to mentioning national Governments as entitled to make the appropriate decisions. Von der Leyen, as stated by a spokesperson, “takes notes and accepts” the resignation and thanks Commissioner Breton for his work throughout his mandate and, in particular, for the progress made on the Digital Services Act and other digital-related regulations.”

Sources from the Elysée said that Macron came forward with proposing Séjourné due to his commitment to Europe, which makes him able to fully support the sovereignty agenda advocated by Ursula von der Leyen. He will now be included in the pre-released list of names that the EU Executive chef will present to the European Parliament political group leaders on Tuesday 17 September.

After a reshuffle in January 2024, he was appointed Foreign Minister of the French government. When he accepted this office, he acted as Chairman of the Renew Group in the European Parliament and as a member of the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence and the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee.

He distinguished himself by supporting Emmanuel Macron when he was Minister of the Economy in the Valls II government. In 2015, he founded the Youth movement with Macron. Before supporting Macron, he was an adviser to Jean-Paul Huchon, the socialist President of the Ile-de-France regional council. He started his political career in Argentina with the Socialist Party.

“The President of the French Republic has always defended France’s bid for a key portfolio of European Commissioners, focusing on issues of industrial and technological sovereignty and European competitiveness,” media outlets were told by Paris. The nomination “is the thrust of all the contacts he has had with the President of the European Commission since her election by the European Parliament”, the text of the statement reads.