Thierry Breton steps down - EC commissioner overseeing big tech regulation quits

Date:
Tue, 17 Sep 2024 13:04:00 +0000

Description:
The EU commissioner blamed von der Leyen in his resignation.

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French European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Thierry Breton has resigned, and pointed the finger at European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Breton, who had been nominated by Macron for a second term, used his resignation to accuse von der Leyen of privately trying to convince Macron to drop him.

A few days ago, in the very final stretch of negotiations on the composition of the future College, you asked France to withdraw my name for personal reasons that in no instance you have discussed directly with me, Bretons resignation states. Questionable Governance

This comes amid tensions in the Commission as von der Leyen has pushed to
form a College of Commissioners with a stricter gender-balance. Both Romania and Slovenia have withdrawn male candidates and replaced them with women, reportedly due to pressure from the EU President.

Bretons resignation also suggested that von der Leyen offered a "political trade-off" for a more influential portfolio for France if Macron withdrew his name, a further testament to "questionable governance", he affirmed.

CEO of X Corporation Linda Yaccarino hailed the resignation as a "good day
for free speech". The platform leader clashed with the EU Commissioner as Breton oversaw regulation of tech companies in the form of the Digital Services Act. The Commissioner was vocal about urging X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk to comply with EU law regarding content moderation.

The French President has since nominated close ally Stphane Sjourn as a replacement for Thierry Breton, who has the blessing of French PM Michel Barnier. The nominations for the College of Commissioners is not yet a complete picture, with the loss of big names like Breton and Vestager leaving big shoes to fill.

Via Financial Times More from TechRadar Pro Check out our pick of the best business VPN Apple Pay branded 'anticompetitive' by the EU Take a look at our picks for the best small business software



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/european-commissioner-thierry-breton-resigns-cit ing-questionable-governance


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