Macron nominates business executive as new French EU Commissioner

French President Emmanuel Macron has nominated 64-year-old executive Thierry Breton from the IT company Atos as a candidate for a position in the European Commission. Initially, Macron had nominated lawyer Sylvie Goulard, but she was rejected by the European Parliament after a hearing.

Now the French president has put forward Thierry Breton, who has led the French IT service provider since 2009 but is also well seasoned in French politics. He was Minister of Economy from 2005 to 2007 under French President Jacques Chirac. He has also served as a top executive at France Telecom and Thomson for some time.

If accepted by the European Parliament, Breton will succeed Elżbieta Bieńkowska. The Internal Market portfolio covers not only industrial policy and economic cooperation (a single EU market) and driving innovation, but also Defense (procurement) and Space (with the satellite program Galileo).

After his first candidate was rejected, President Macron faced a choice: maintain her nomination and risk conflict with the European Parliament and the new Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, or insist on France’s desired economic-industrial portfolio. The latter option prevailed with Macron. He says he has received assurance from Commission President von der Leyen that the tasks assigned to the new French Commissioner will remain unchanged.

It is unknown what the French tycoon Breton will do if he is unable to take up the EU post should the European Parliament reject him. A hearing on his candidacy is expected to take place in early November. In any case, it is certain he will not return as CEO of Atos. Breton is nearly at retirement age; in France this age remains a strict threshold for retirement.