On the eve of taking office, German MEP Markus Pieper announced Monday April 15 that he was giving up a highly paid position at the European Commission, after a controversy that threatened President Ursula von der Leyen’s electoral campaign in a few weeks before the European elections.

At the end of January, this elected official from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU, right) was chosen to occupy the new position of emissary in charge of small and medium-sized businesses within the European executive. This recruitment was notably contested by the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton.

The choice of a compatriot from the same party as Mrs von der Leyen fueled accusations of favoritism. Especially since it took place a few weeks before a congress in Bucharest at the beginning of March during which the EPP group (of which the CDU is a part) gave its support to a second term for Mrs von der Leyen. The European Parliament called on Thursday for the cancellation of this appointment and the launch of a new procedure by a vote by a large majority.

Mr. Pieper said he was the victim of a political campaign led by Mr. Breton, close to the liberal Renew group. “Given the way Breton boycotted my entry into office at the Commission from the start, I currently see no possibility of meeting the legitimate expectations linked to this function,” Markus Pieper told the German daily Handelsblatt on Monday evening. He claimed the French commissioner was “exclusively motivated by partisan politics.”

Doubts about the transparency and impartiality of the procedure

Mr. Pieper signed his contract on March 31 and was due to take office on Tuesday. He should have reported directly to Ms. von der Leyen and Mr. Breton, in particular in charge of industry. The grade 15 position, one of the highest in the European hierarchy, was to earn him remuneration of 18,430 euros gross per month, according to the official scale.

Ursula von der Leyen took note of this withdrawal. “The President respects and at the same time regrets the decision of Markus Pieper to give up taking up his duties as Envoy for SMEs,” her spokesperson Eric Mamer said in a press release on Monday evening. “The President has decided to suspend the reopening of the selection procedure for the position (…) until the period following the European elections,” he said.

Mr. Breton, as well as the Italian commissioners Paolo Gentiloni, Luxembourg Nicolas Schmit and the head of EU diplomacy, the Spaniard Josep Borrell, had questioned “the transparency and impartiality” of the appointment procedure of Mr. Pieper in a letter to Mrs. von der Leyen.

Two candidates, Czech MEP Martina Dlabajova of the Renew group, supported by Mr Breton, and Anna Stellinger of the Confederation of Swedish Business, had reached the final stage of the recruitment procedure obtaining better evaluations than Mr Pieper.