European Commissioner Thierry Breton questioned the degree of support for the candidacy of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was officially appointed on Thursday by conservatives at the PPE congress in Bucharest to try for a second mandate, AFP reports.

Thierry Breton, European market commissioner, is also responsible for the defense industryPhoto: Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP / Profimedia Images

This attempt by the French commissioner, in the midst of the election campaign for the European Union, forced the EU executive on Friday to withdraw the rules of conduct, which is a rare fact, reports the agency France Presse, quoted by Agerpres.

Ursula von der Leyen was officially nominated as a candidate at the Bucharest Congress of the European People’s Party (EPP), the first political force in the European Parliament, which is also the favorite in the June 6-9 elections.

“Despite her qualities, Ursula von der Leyen offered a minority with her party. The real question now is: “Can the EPP be trusted to govern Europe again for another 5 years or 25 years in a row?” Thierry Breton wrote Thursday night on the X Network.

“The EPP itself does not seem to believe in its candidate,” the French internal market commissioner from the Renew group, which has often aligned with the EPP during the current term in the European Parliament, also wrote.

400 delegates voted for Ursula von der Leyen, 89 voted against, and ten votes were declared invalid. The total number of voters of the Bucharest Congress was 499.

Thierry Breton spoke of a “minority” by referring the number of 400 “yes” votes to the total number of 801 delegates who had some voting rights in Congress. But according to NGO data, 737 delegates had the right to vote for the election of a candidate, and only 591 were actually registered.

Asked about Thierry Breton’s comments on Friday, a spokeswoman for the European Commission said it was “a remark made on his own behalf and not in his capacity as commissioner”.

“The Secretary General (of the Commission) will send a memorandum to all members of the commission on the directives set for the election campaign period that they must follow,” spokeswoman Verle Nuyts added at the daily press briefing.

“We ask commissioners to exercise caution in applying these rules,” she added.