Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services of the European Union, announced his resignation in a letter he forwarded to the body’s President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday morning.
The French politician and former CEO of France Télécom, expressed his gratitude for his tenure in a post he shared on his personal X (formerly Twitter) account. “I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my colleagues in the College, Commission services, MEPs, Member States, and my team. Together, we have worked tirelessly to advance an ambitious EU agenda. It has been an honour & privilege to serve the common European interest.”
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my colleagues in the College, Commission services, MEPs, Member States, and my team.
Together, we have worked tirelessly to advance an ambitious EU agenda.
It has been an honour & privilege to serve the common European interest🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/wQ4eeHUnYu
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) September 16, 2024
In his letter, the French politician openly accused Ursula von der Leyen of personally requesting that France withdraw his candidacy for the European College of Commissioners “for personal reasons that in no instance you [Ursula von der Leyen] have discussed directly with me”.
Breton served as the European commissioner in his portfolio for five years from December 2019, a role that gave him oversight of the smooth and fair running of the European single market, both physical and digital.
Thierry Breton was caught up in an online firestorm in August when he engaged in a spat with Elon Musk after sending the billionaire and X owner a letter urging him to make sure that the social platform adhered to EU regulations and moderated content before a scheduled live interview between the tech tycoon and U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump.
