Did Von der Leyen surrender to Trump? Thierry Breton’s scathing rebuke over trade and digital sovereignty

In a blistering op-ed published in The Guardian, Le Figaro, La Stampa, Handelsblatt, and El País, former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton launches a fierce attack on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, accusing her of capitulating to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade demands and endangering Europe’s digital sovereignty.

Titled “The EU surrendered to Trump over trade tariffs – now it’s in danger of capitulating again,” Breton’s article, presumably fuelled by his forced resignation in September 2024 after clashing with von der Leyen over his renomination, takes aim at her leadership as much as Trump’s aggressive policies.

Breton starts with Trump’s recent threats of sanctions and trade barriers aimed at the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA), landmark regulations designed to rein in tech giants and protect the digital space.

Reuters: Trump administration weighs sanctions on officials implementing EU tech law

“Fresh threats of sanctions have just emerged from across the Atlantic, targeting Europe and any official who dares to enforce the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU’s flagship law regulating tech platforms and digital operations,” Breton writes. He frames these as an assault on Europe’s sovereignty, asking, “How long are we, citizens of the EU, going to tolerate these threats? Submit to those who want to impose their rules, their laws, their deadlines on us?”

The DSA and DMA, overwhelmingly supported by the European Parliament—588 votes to 11 for the DMA and 539 to 54 for the DSA—are, in Breton’s view, non-negotiable extensions of Europe’s democratic norms into the digital realm. “The DMA and the DSA are, in truth, nothing more than the extension of our social and democratic norms from the physical world into the digital one. In other words: the rule of law,” he asserts. He emphasizes Europe’s pioneering role, noting, “Europe is the first and only continent to have taken this step. It has every reason to be proud.” Yet, Trump’s threats, coupled with pressure from American tech giants, risk undermining these laws, exploiting what Breton calls “an ever-widening gulf of misunderstanding” between the EU and the U.S. on digital regulation.

Breton’s critique extends beyond Trump to von der Leyen, whom he accuses of leading Europe into a humiliating trade deal. In July 2025, von der Leyen and Trump struck an agreement at Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, setting a 15% tariff on most EU exports to the U.S. while committing the EU to purchase $750 billion in U.S. energy and invest an additional $200 billion annually in the U.S. economy. Breton scorns this as a lopsided surrender, questioning, “Why then did Europe end up lowering its guard and accepting a 15% tariff on European exports to the US, while conceding zero tariffs on US imports, including most agricultural products?” He contrasts this with Mexico and Canada, which, after tough negotiations, secured exemptions on over 90% of their exports and an average tariff rate below 5%. “Let us be blunt: an alternative EU negotiating path was possible; one that did not involve our submission,” he insists.

The deal, Breton argues, offers no real guarantees. “We were told humiliation was the price we had to pay for stability. But if we don’t push back now, we will get humiliation and instability,” he warns, pointing to the risk of further U.S. demands, such as penalties for not buying enough American gas or for prioritizing European investments. He questions the deal’s value, asking, “Is this truly the best deal Europe could have hoped for?”

Breton’s call to action is a direct challenge to von der Leyen’s leadership: “The time has come to rise up. Europeans must stand together and proclaim loud and clear: ‘Enough is enough, es reicht, ça suffit, adesso basta, dość tego, ya basta …’ Europe, stand up!” For Breton, von der Leyen’s concessions risk a “historic abdication of the public sphere,” and his multilingual plea aims to rally Europeans against her perceived weakness. Whether this salvo reshapes EU policy or merely underscores Breton’s personal grudge, it exposes deep tensions in Europe’s stance against transatlantic pressure.

Breton’s article in The Guardian can be found here.

Caption: File photo. European Union Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton attends the European weekly Commission college meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 5 March. Breton on 16 September 2024 resigned from his positon as European Commissioner due to a dispute with the European Union commission`s chief, Ursula von der Leyen, who he said asked France to withdraw his candidacy for the next executive. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET