Citing “questionable governance” in Brussels, Thierry Breton has resigned as European Commission’s top censorship czar in a surprise announcement in the wake of a public spat over his threats to ban Elon Musk’s X platform in the bloc.
In an explosive resignation letter posted on X, Frenchman Breton claimed that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had worked behind the scenes to replace him in his post as the EU’s Internal Market Commissioner as she seeks to build out her new government.
Breton, who spearheaded the bloc’s new draconian censorship law, the Digital Services Act (DSA), claimed that von der Leyen lobbied President Emmanuel Macron’s government in Paris to withdraw his nomination for a second term “for personal reasons” and that she had “in no instance” mentioned this to him.
“In light of these developments – further testimony to questionable governance – I have concluded that I can no longer exercise my duties in the College,” he wrote. “I am therefore resigning from my position as European Commissioner, effective immediately.”
According to Euronews, the Commission refused to confirm or deny whether von der Leyen had pushed for a replacement of Breton, merely saying that the EU chief “takes note and accepts the resignation” and “thanks him for his work.”
The surprise announcement from Breton also comes just weeks after he was accused by anonymous sources within Brussels of having gone rogue by publicly threatening an outright ban of Elon Musk’s X social media platform over so-called hate speech and supposed disinformation.
Breton had also demanded that Musk censor his live interview with U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, warning against allowing “content that may incite violence, hate and racism in conjunction with major political – or societal – events around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections.”
The intervention from the top Eurocrat sparked accusations of “election interference” in the U.S. presidential race. The following day, EU sources briefed the press, claiming that Breton had not consulted with von der Leyen before making his threats of censorship against X.
“The EU is not in the business of electoral interference,” one EU official reportedly said at the time. “DSA implementation is too important to be misused by an attention-seeking politician in search of his next big job.”
The resignation of Breton will likely further complicate matters for von der Leyen as she seeks to form her new College of Commissioners, which serves as her effective cabinet in Brussels, already a tough task given the horse trading with various EU state governments needed to fill the posts.
Following his departure, French President Emmanuel Macron nominated former neo-liberal Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Stéphane Séjourné, who previously led Macron’s Renew Europe group in the European Parliament. Séjourné, currently serving as Macron’s Foreign Affairs minister, is also notable for previously being in a homosexual “civil union” partnership with former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.