Breton slams ‘empress’ von der Leyen’s power grab and France’s loss of influence in EU

PARIS — Former European Commissioner Thierry Breton believes that France will be weaker in Brussels after his departure and that giving too much power to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is a danger to Europe.

“France is now relegated to the same level as Italy, Spain, Poland, Finland and Romania. It has to be said that its weight is much diluted compared to the previous Commission,” Breton told France’s Le Monde newspaper in an interview published Sunday.

Breton, who had served as European commissioner for the internal market since 2019, stepped down earlier this month, accusing von der Leyen of pushing French President Emmanuel Macron to pull him as France’s nominee for the new Commission in exchange for a beefier portfolio.

Macron ended up proposing his protégé Stéphane Séjourné, who is set to be appointed as an executive vice president in the new Commission. On paper, several commissioners are meant to report to Séjourné in his new role, but Séjourné will have direct control over only one of the Commission’s directorates general — known as DGs. Breton was in charge of three DGs as he oversaw the internal market, tech and telecoms, and defense.

“My commissioner’s portfolio has been divided between five commissioners!” is how Breton put it in the Le Monde interview.

Against ’empress’ Ursula

Breton, who had turbulent relations with von der Leyen at the EU executive, warned that the Commission president for her second mandate has centralized power in her hands to promote a pro-German agenda.

“In some Brussels newspapers, Ursula von der Leyen is described as ‘Europe’s empress’,” Breton said, referring to POLITICO.

“This is embarrassing for Europe, which was not built to have an empress or an emperor. Europe is about balance, serving the general European interest, not that of a single country,” Breton said. “If this balance is broken, the European project is in danger.”

Breton argued that Germany was taking advantage of the situation to exert more power in Brussels and warned that von der Leyen, who is German, could use its power in Brussels to serve Berlin’s interests to the detriment of other countries. “As Germany is not doing well [economy-wise], we have to be careful that all European policies are not diverted to its benefit,” as he put it.

Breton, who is also a former French economy and finance minister, spared no criticism to his own government, arguing that France is also partly responsible for its own loss of influence.

“If Germany is taking the lead, it’s because others are not playing the balancing role they should,” said Breton, arguing that political uncertainty and massive public debt have contributed to weaken Paris.

“With a deficit of almost 6 percent of GDP, for no external reason, France’s voice is inevitably weaker,” he said.