Macron’s Second Pick for Top EU Job Survives Parliament Grilling

(Bloomberg) -- Emmanuel Macron’s pick for the European Commission was approved by EU lawmakers, saving the French president from a potential embarrassment and bringing Ursula von der Leyen’s team a step closer to taking the helm of the bloc’s executive arm.

After beating back repeated questions about potential conflicts of interest, Thierry Breton got the backing of the EU Parliament’s three main political groups. He is now poised to become EU industry commissioner, a position from which he’ll have oversight over defense, space and tech policies, as well as of the strengthening of the EU’s single market -- a wide and powerful remit that includes some of the most important strategic areas for the next years.

Over hours of hearings, a number of European lawmakers grilled Breton, the former chief executive officer of tech company Atos SE, questioning whether he would be able to maintain independence as the overseer of industries in which his former firm plays an important role.

“I know that some of you might think that because I worked for some of these companies, one day I might give them special treatment,” Breton said in an opening statement. “All that will be guiding me is European interest.”

Breton was picked by Macron to replace Sylvie Goulard who was rejected by lawmakers last month in a bruising setback for the French president. In a declaration of his financial interests, Breton said he sold all of his Atos and Worldline SA shares, and has resigned from all mandates in companies and associations in order to prevent any potential conflict of interests.

Technology Chief

Lawmakers recognized the former CEO’s expertise in the subject matter he would oversee. Before being chosen for the post, Breton led Atos for a decade and previously spent most of his career at computer and telecom companies Bull and France Telecom. He also served as finance minister in the French government from 2005 to 2007 under center-right President Jacques Chirac.

While Romania’s candidate also got the EU Parliament’s backing, Hungary’s nominee didn’t convince the assembly and will have to answer further questions, in a small setback for incoming commission chief von der Leyen, whose entry into office has already been delayed from the scheduled Nov. 1 date after the three original commissioner nominees from France, Hungary and Romania were rejected.

Composed of one representative from each EU member state, the commission is responsible for proposing legislation and enforcing common rules in a vast single market extending from the Arctic circle to the shores of the Middle East. The U.K., which is scheduled to leave the EU in January, refused to nominate a member, forcing the commission to start legal action.

The EU Parliament is now scheduled to vote on the confirmation of the EU commission on Nov. 27. A positive outcome will likely allow von der Leyen to take office on Dec. 1, assuming a way is found to waive the U.K’s obligation to have a commissioner.

To contact the reporters on this story: Natalia Drozdiak in Brussels at ndrozdiak1@bloomberg.net;Viktoria Dendrinou in Brussels at vdendrinou@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Nikos Chrysoloras, Peter Chapman

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