PARIS - Former European Commissioner Thierry Breton has called on the European Union to respond with "utmost firmness" to the decision by the U.S. administration to impose sanctions on him and four other European citizens due to their activities in the area of online content regulation. According to a report by Politico, the case has immediately triggered strong reactions in Brussels and several European capitals.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last week that Breton would be "generally denied entry to the United States." The same sanctions apply to British citizens Imran Ahmed and Clare Melford, and Germans Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon, who worked for organizations focused on combating hate speech online. According to the U.S. State Department, these individuals "systematically threatened freedom of expression," Politico reports.

Washington also described Breton as the "chief architect of the Digital Services Act (DSA)," a key piece of European regulation for online platforms. It was on the basis of this Act that the social network X, owned by Elon Musk, was fined 120 million euros. This issue has long been a major source of tension between Brussels and Washington, Politico and the Financial Times note.

“If we allow the situation where, as a European Commissioner, you can be ostracized, accused, and punished for fulfilling the mandate entrusted to you, then we are embarking on an extremely dangerous path,” Breton said in an interview with RTL radio on Tuesday. “If we allow this situation to continue, it would mean that my successors will be intimidated and effectively prevented from carrying out their European mandate.”

Breton also emphasized that the EU's response must be unified and firm. “The European Commission must not show any weakness... European institutions must respond with the utmost determination,” he told RTL.

According to Politico, Breton held lengthy discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron after the sanctions were announced. Macron has so far been cautious in his public comments on the matter, but he is reportedly pushing for a coordinated European response. Paris fears that the U.S. action could set a precedent where European officials are sanctioned for enforcing EU law.

The former top executive in the technology industry resigned from his position as European Commissioner for the Internal Market last year, accusing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of trying to force him out of office. However, according to Politico and other media outlets, he has received significant support across Europe, including from some members of the European Parliament and several national governments.

The European Commission, in its official statement, said that it had requested "additional explanations" from U.S. authorities and that it "will react quickly and decisively if necessary." According to Brussels diplomatic sources cited by Politico, both diplomatic and legal measures are now being considered to demonstrate that the EU considers such interference in the functioning of its institutions to be unacceptable.

gnews.cz - GH