The 27 commissioners who make up von der Leyen’s new team, each tasked with a different area of focus, still need to be approved by the European Parliament, a process that could take weeks.
“[Previously]it was very, very clear that the commission was ambitious when it came to considering and proposing new legislation to counter all these different threats that they perceived, especially those posed by large technology platforms,” says Matthias Vermeulen, Director of Public Policy policy at Brussels-based consultancy AWO. “It is no longer a political priority in the sense that the legislation has been passed and now it has to be implemented.”
Instead, Virkkunen’s headline suggests the focus has shifted to the role of technology in European security and the bloc’s dependence on other countries for critical technologies such as chips. “There’s this realization that you now need someone who can really connect the dots between geopolitics, security policy, industrial policy and then the enforcement of all the digital laws,” he adds. Earlier in September, a long-awaited report by economist and former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi warned that Europe risks becoming “vulnerable to coercion” on the world stage if it does not boost growth. “We need to have more secure supply chains for critical raw materials and technology,” he said.
Breton isn’t the only prolific Big Tech adversary to be replaced this week — in a planned exit. Also gone is Margrethe Vestager, who had earned a reputation as one of the world’s most powerful antitrust regulators after 10 years in the post. Vestager last week celebrated a victory in a lawsuit forcing Apple to pay $14.4 billion in back taxes to Ireland, a case Apple CEO Tim Cook once called “complete political nonsense.”
Vestager – who vied with Breton for the reputation of leading digital performer (she was technically his boss) – will now be replaced by Spanish socialist Teresa Ribera, whose role will include competition as well as Europe’s green transition. Her official title will be appointed executive vice president for a clean, fair and competitive transition, making it likely that Big Tech will slip down the list of priorities. “[Ribera’s] the most immediate political priority is actually to create this clean industrial deal,” says Vermeulen.
Political priorities may change, but the frenzy of new rules introduced over the past five years will still need to be implemented. A legal battle is underway over Google’s $1.7 billion antitrust fine. Apple, Google and Meta are under investigation for violations of the Digital Markets Act. Under the Digital Services Act, TikTok, Meta, AliExpress, as well as Elon Musk’s X, are also under investigation. “It’s too early for Elon Musk to breathe a sigh of relief,” said J. Scott Marcus, a senior fellow at the Bruegel think tank. He argued that Musk’s alleged practices at X would likely run afoul of the Digital Services Act (DSA) regardless of who the commissioner is.
“The tone of the confrontation may become a little more civil, but the problems are unlikely to disappear.”
