During the European Council on 27 June, Emmanuel Macron informed his counterparts that he wanted to re-elect Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market since 2019. [EPA-EFE/LUDOVIC MARIN / POOL MAXPPP OUT]
Without a majority in the French Parliament after legislative elections on July 7, President Emmanuel Macron will have to face opposition parties seeking to interfere in the appointment of a long-term French commissioner.
During a stopover in Brussels on Wednesday, July 10, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of France Insoumise (LFI, The Left), said that the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance “is the best placed” to decide on the next French election. notary.
Defying all polls, the NFP came first in the legislative elections, followed by the Ensemble, Macron’s coalition and the far-right National Rally (RN).
“In some countries, we would have the audacity to think that the first organization in a National Assembly is the most productive to appoint the commissioner. But the presidential monarchy . . . is similar to the old regime, where the only government is the intelligent enthusiasm of the prince,” Mélenchon said in Brussels.
France is going through unprecedented political instability, with the prime minister’s decision and the composition of the future government still unknown, important events are looming in Brussels.
The new members of the European Parliament are expected to approve the re-election of Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission on Thursday, July 18. The 27 European Commissioners will then be appointed, one per Member State.
During the European Council on 27 June, Macron told his counterparts that he intended to reappoint Thierry Breton, until now European Commissioner for the Internal Market, from 2019.
But the president’s legitimacy in the eyes of a long-term European commissioner has been questioned by his warring political parties since the dissolution of the National Assembly on the night of the June 9 European elections.
“Emmanuel Macron is projected towards a victory that he cannot achieve, so he will not appoint Mr. Breton,” National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen told Cnews the day after the election. European Council.
“It is the prerogative of the Prime Minister to appoint the European Commissioner,” he added.
At that time, the polls predicted a landslide victory for the far right and, on the occasion of an absolute majority in the National Assembly, the RN had beaten the party’s president, Jordan Bardella, in Matignon. Minister).
However, there is nothing in the French Constitution that clearly indicates who appoints a commissioner. However, this appointment is usually made through the president and not through the prime minister.
“Foreign policy is an area reserved for the president. It is logical that he should remain in the appointment of the European Commissioner,” Pascal Lamy, former European Commissioner and president of the Jacques Delors Institute, told EURACTIV.
The choice of Breton is all the more logical since the current commissioner could see his portfolio expanded, although “the final choice will depend on the new government,” concludes Lamy.