Telecoms loses a strong ally as EC President von der Leyen leaves him out of the new College of Commissioners
Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services has resigned from the Commission. He took up the post in 2019 after MEP Sylvie Goulard suddenly withdrew her candidacy and was never far from the headlines. He certainly had no fear of controversy.
Breton is a former CEO of France Télécom (now Orange group), widely credited with turning the company round. He was seen as a good ally for the telecoms industry. For example, he backed the operators’ Fair Share deal which is not universally popular in Brussels. After appearing to gain momentum in 2023, it was quietly shelved towards the end of the year.
Earlier this year, at MWC, he called for a harmonised approach to allocating spectrum for mobile services.
Breton was also credited with being the mastermind behind the Digital Networks Act, which will be presented by the incoming Commission. As outlined in this article, Von der Leyen has just appointed the new College of Commissioners which did not include Breton. The College: The Commission serves a five-year term.
Breton posted his resignation letter on X after a reported bust up with the EC’s President, Ursula von der Leyen, whom he accused of “questionable governance” in the post.
Earlier this year she was accused of ‘cronyism’ when she proposed appointing MEP Markus Pieper (from her own German centre-right party) to the Commission post as envoy for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
Breton led the campaign to block the appointment, with the backing of Commissioners Josep Borrell, Paolo Gentiloni, and Nicolas Schmit, who criticised the lack of transparency around the proposal and the fact that von der Leyen had ignored two female candidates who were better qualified for the €17,000 a month post.
Now Breton has been replaced as France’s candidate for the Commission by Stéphane Séjourné, the outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs. Séjourné is said to be a close ally of the beleaguered French President, Emmanuel Macron.
Last week former Italian Prime Minister and former Governor of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, published what is expected to be a highly influential paper on how to improve Europe’ competitiveness. Much of it is music the telecoms industry’s ears and Breton was expected to support the recommendations. How much telecoms will miss Breton remains to be seen.