This is very good news for the French Presidency. The candidacy of Thierry Breton to the European Commission was validated, Thursday, November 14, by MEPs, we learned from parliamentary sources.
"Congratulations to @ThierryBreton, whose candidacy has just been approved by two-thirds of the coordinators.Next step: vote of the College of Commissioners, probably on November 27", wrote on Twitter MEP Stéphane Séjourné, president of the French delegation of the Renew Group to the European Parliament.
During a three-hour interview, 64-year-old Thierry Breton assured Thursday of his future neutrality and commitment to skeptical MEPs, who highlighted the risks of conflicts of interest for the former CEO of Atos IT Services Group. "There is only one solution, be radical, I say radical," insisted the former Minister of Economy (2005-2007).
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Thierry Breton also said his intention to recuse himself on the subjects that directly concern Atos, for example "contracts" that would have passed with the EU. But more broadly, he has ruled out issues of Atos' evolving sectors, such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and supercomputers.
He also reminded MEPs that he had already sold all of his shares - for an amount of 45 million euros, according to the documents of the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) - and resigned the mandates he exercised. on various boards. "I do not have any interest in the companies that I managed Zero, Zero!", He insisted
The Frenchman was generally less attacked on the issue of conflicts of interest than the first choice of Emmanuel Macron for the Commission, Sylvie Goulard, dismissed at the beginning of October for ethical reasons.
MEPs denounced the fact that Mrs Goulard appears before them to become a commissioner when she resigned from the French government because of the case of the allegedly fictitious jobs of her former party, the Modem.
With Reuters