Breton quits as France's EU commissioner

Thierry Breton has resigned as European Commissioner, dealing a new blow to Ursula von der Leyen's efforts to build her next team, Azernews reports citing Reuters.

Thierry Breton, the powerful European Commissioner in charge of the internal market, abruptly resigned on Monday, claiming that Ursula von der Leyen had pressured France, his home country, to submit another candidate to replace him "for personal reasons."

Breton announced the move in a scathing letter published on social platform X, saying this alleged lobbying had taken place just "a few days ago," while the Commission president was putting the finishing touches to her new executive.

The Frenchman was expected to receive an important portfolio in the upcoming Commission, having been rumoured for an executive vice presidency. But in his letter, he claims Paris was promised an even loftier position in exchange for ditching his bid.

"A few days ago, in the very last stretch of negotiations on the composition of the future of the College, you asked France to withdraw my name – for personal reasons that in no instance you have discussed directly with me – and offered, as a political trade-off, an allegedly more influential portfolio for France in the future College," Breton wrote.