France’s EU commissioner candidate, Thierry Breton, is due to be grilled by EU lawmakers on Thursday about his fitness for the role after they rejected the first nominee proposed by Paris.
Breton, was a former tech industry executive.
To be confirmed, Breton will need a two-thirds majority from the EU lawmakers attending Thursday’s hearing, a hurdle that could be hard to clear.
European Commission president-elect, Ursula von der Leyen, has had a tough time assembling her top team, which should include one official from each of the European Union’s member states.
The setbacks forced her to delay her planned Nov. 1, start date.
Lawmakers from several political groups have raised questions about possible conflicts between Breton’s former role as head of technology giant Atos and the responsibility he would have to oversee the sector, as future EU internal market commissioner.
The veteran German politician now hopes to secure the European Parliament’s approval for her full commission line-up in time for her to take office on Dec 1.
Besides France, Hungary and Romania had to propose new commissioners after the parliament rejected their initial nominees due to conflicts of interest.
Breton, along with Hungary’s Oliver Varhelyi and Adina Valean of Romania passed the first hurdle on Tuesday, when the parliament’s legal affairs committee narrowly cleared all three of any financial conflicts of interest.
French President Emmanuel Macron nominated Breton after his first choice, former EU lawmaker Sylvie Goulard, was rejected by the parliament.
She came under fire for an EU anti-fraud inquiry and lucrative consulting work during her time in office. (dpa/NAN)
