Former Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton will not be attending the US hearing scheduled to attack EU tech laws, he wrote in a letter sent to MAGA politician Jim Jordan, seen by Euractiv.
The hearing, scheduled by the US House of Representatives on “Europe’s threat to American speech and innovation”, is set to take place next Wednesday and will examine EU tech laws and Americans’ right to free speech.
It follows Jordan’s report touting EU tech laws such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) a “censorship” law and will likely stage an attack on the bloc’s digital laws that have long been in the crosshairs of MAGA politicians.
Breton on Thursday informed Jordan, who chairs the US House of Judiciary Committee and MAGA, on Thursday that he would not be able to participate.
“I respectfully regret to inform you that I will not be able to participate, being not available on that date, given the very short notice,” Breton’s letter stated.
The EU’s former tech Commissioner, who helped in scribing the EU’s digital rulebook – including the DSA and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) – was invited earlier his week.
Breton added that he was informed that the European Commission would “answer you [Jordan] directly in substance”.
The Commission earlier today slammed the US attack on the EU’s digital laws as “nonsense”. Referring to the invitation, it further indicated that former Commissioners need the Commission’s authorisation to participate in hearings of such nature.
“I remain a believer of a constructive, deep and respectful transatlantic partnership and cooperation,” Breton wrote. Cautioning, however, that “it requires respect and mutual understanding” to continue the EU-US relationship.
Earlier on Thursday, the former Commissioner defended the EU’s digital rulebook as “nothing more than the extension of our [EU and US] social and democratic norms from the physical world into the digital world,” in a The Guardian opinion piece.
(vib)