The European Commission addressed, Friday, July 14, an end of inadmissibility to the French government which claims the cancellation of the controversial recruitment of the American Fiona Scott Morton for the regulation of the tech giants. The request from Paris was however taken up by the leaders of the four main political groups in the European Parliament. They denounce both a risk of conflict of interest and that of interference from Washington with the arrival in a key position of this former consultant and former executive of the Obama administration.
“The decision has been made. We see no reason to reconsider it,” Commission spokeswoman Dana Spinant told a daily press briefing.
The European executive, chaired by Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Tuesday that Fiona Scott Morton, professor of economics at Yale University, had been chosen as the new chief economist at the Directorate General for Competition.
“This appointment deserves to be reconsidered”
The appointment provoked outraged reactions, particularly in France. Elected officials from all political backgrounds have singled out her former duties as head of economic analysis at the antitrust division of the US Department of Justice, between May 2011 and December 2012, or as a consultant for major tech groups such as Amazon, Apple and Microsoft.
“Digital regulation is a key issue for France and for Europe. This appointment deserves to be reconsidered by the Commission”, reacted Thursday evening the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna. In the European Parliament, the leaders of the EPP (right-wing), S&D (social democrats), Renew (centrist and liberal) and Greens groups have also written to the Commission asking it to “cancel this decision”.
Friday evening, the French employers’ organization, the Medef, associated its voice with this cross-party initiative, denouncing the “naivety and indifference or even contempt for European public opinion” of the Brussels administration.
“Recognized expert”
“At a time when our institutions are under intense scrutiny from foreign interference, we do not understand why non-European candidates should be considered for such a strategic and high-level position,” the ministers said. German Manfred Weber, Spaniard Iratxe Garcia Perez, Frenchman Stéphane Séjourné and Belgian Philippe Lamberts, in a letter dated Friday addressed to the European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager.
The mail has been received by Margrethe Vestager who will respond to it, said Dana Spinant. The powerful Directorate-General for Competition is responsible for ensuring the proper functioning of competition in the European Union (EU) and in particular for investigating abuses of dominant position by digital giants, which have resulted in record fines these last years.
The appointment of Fiona Scott Scott Morton comes at a time when the EU must implement ambitious new legislation to regulate this sector. It feeds criticism against Margrethe Vestager and Ursula von der Leyen, considered very Atlanticist. The Commission emphasizes for its part that it has complied with its recruitment rules. The procedure was launched in February and open from the start to non-EU nationals in order to have a wider choice for a type of very specialized skills, explained Dana Spinant. In all, only 11 applications were received for the post, it is explained in Brussels.
The recruitment of a “recognized expert in economic and competition issues of a non-European nationality shows that the Commission seeks above all to base its decisions on the best possible expertise and this is a signal of competence and openness”, said the spokesperson.
The Commission also relativizes the responsibilities that will be assumed by Fiona Scott Morton. “It’s not a position where you are empowered to make decisions, it’s an advisory position” with Margrethe Vestager, assured Dana Spinant.
Brussels had already ruled out any risk of conflict of interest on Thursday. Fiona Scott Morton “will not be involved in files on which she worked or of which she became aware in her previous employment”, we insisted on the Commission.
Without necessarily convincing because this appointment aroused anger even within the executive. “We are walking on our heads. Several commissioners are outraged and have made it known to the president,” a senior European official told AFP. “The process was not transparent. This was validated quickly among undebated points during a meeting of the college of commissioners, without even specifying the American nationality of Fiona Scott Morton,” he said.