The composition of the new European Commission is difficult and painful. Its President intends to direct alone an institution that wishes to extend its competences to geostrategy, i.e. also foreign and defence policy. This is not without its problems. The Member States are reluctant, and there is no room for free spirits within the College, which explains Thierry Breton's resignation.
He could be criticised for being too active, if that criticism were justified in an institution that has been criticised for being slow and sluggish, but certainly not for being efficient, independent and competent. He has moved Europe forward in every area of his expertise, and he will be missed at the heart of a College that is increasingly coming under fire. The weakened French President did not feel he had to lead the fight to secure his appointment, and that is a great pity.
European policies appear to be more and more unbalanced under the influence of Germany, which itself is struggling as a result of its retrograde economic policy. This threatens the entire European Union as it gives ammunition to its traditional adversaries.
It is time to mark changes in the governance of the institutions, before we even consider amending the Treaties. A new way of doing things needs to be adapted to a new situation: the threats from the East and competition from the West and Asia call for a leap of faith and changes of direction that Mario Draghi has perfectly identified and recommended in economic matters and that Emmanuel Macron himself advocated in foreign and defence policy.
What is at stake is the legitimacy of the common institutions that we so desperately need, and which seem to be struggling to cope with change.
