"I am very honored by the trust placed in me by President Emmanuel Macron and the President-elect of the European Commission, Mrs Ursula von der Leyen." Two weeks after the rejection of its initial candidate, Sylvie Goulard, by the European Parliament, Emmanuel Macron on Thursday proposed Thierry Breton as a new French member to the European Commission. CEO of the IT group Atos and former Minister of the Economy, the respondent reacted soon after in a statement sent to AFP. "I see for Europe and for all our fellow European citizens the importance of the challenges associated with this portfolio for the future of our continent," he said.
Thierry Breton, 64, is "now dedicated to the preparation of hearings before the relevant committees of the European Parliament", he assured. From now on, the new candidate will have to convince MEPs by the end of November. It must first go before the parliamentary committee on legal affairs, responsible for deciding on the possible conflicts of interest of future commissioners. This commission has already ousted Hungarian Laszlo Trocsanyi and Romania's Rovana Plumb. Then Thierry Breton will be auditioned by the MEPs, who must agree, like Sylvie Goulard before him.
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