French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed Stephane Sejourne, the country’s outgoing foreign minister, to replace Thierry Breton as its European commissioner, after Breton announced he would be quitting, claiming EU chief Ursula von der Leyen had asked Paris to withdraw his candidacy.
Breton’s unexpected resignation Monday comes a day before von der Leyen was expected to announce the makeup of the next Commission following June’s European Parliament elections.
Breton has serve as the bloc’s internal market commissioner since 2019, and French President Emmanuel Macron had put forward Breton’s name to be reappointed, which had been taken as a given.
His portfolio also included defense and space, and he had been tipped to get a promotion to be a commission vice president stewarding industrial growth.
But Breton said that von der Leyen had asked him to step down.
Stephane Sejourne has just wrapped up a two-day visit to Armenia, where he met with Armenian Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
