An American at the European Commission? In France, the political class is not recovering from it. On July 11, the economist Fiona Scott Morton, professor at Yale University, was chosen for a strategic position within the powerful Directorate General for Competition in Brussels. But the choice of this woman from the United States, moreover ex-advisor of Microsoft or Apple, causes a stir. Three French ministers stepped up to the plate. “This appointment deserves to be reconsidered,” wrote the head of French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna, on Twitter.
For its part, Brussels does not budge: Fiona Scott Morton is the best of the 11 candidates for the position of chief economist. Moreover, his nomination did not make public waves in the other capitals of the EU. She also has the support of her peers: the Nobel Prize in economics Jean Tirole first, followed by around forty renowned economists, including the professor at the Collège de France, Philippe Aghion. “As European economists, we fully support the regulation of digital platforms and believe that the appointment of Fiona Scott Morton will contribute to it,” they wrote in a column.
This position is, moreover, very specific. Reserved for a non-civil servant academic, it was created in 2003 after several defeats of the Commission before European justice on emblematic cases (such as the abortive Schneider/Legrand merger). The chief economist and his thirty or so experts play the role of devil’s advocate and bring a more economic than legal perspective to the investigation of cases of mergers/acquisitions, abuse of a dominant position or aid from State. “It is almost unexpected to have attracted someone of such quality for this position, assures Cyril Hariton, partner at the European firm Positive Competition, who worked fifteen years with his predecessors. I know few CVs as well fill only his.”
She advised several giants
Aged 56, Fiona Scott Morton worked for the American anti-trust authority under Obama. She also knows the business world very well, having advised several giants. A double-edged skill: in the event of a conflict of interest, it will have to give up issuing opinions for two years. “This will cause organizational problems, recognizes Cyril Hariton. If the heavyweight of the team cannot speak on a file, it will be more difficult to influence decisions.”
While he shocks some politicians, his American passport leaves the small transnational world of competition economists unmoved. “Since the 2000s, the EU and the United States have been trying to coordinate their doctrine in this area to avoid differences. In Brussels, it is a permanent concern”, explains a source familiar with these subjects. In 2001, the Commission had blocked the merger between the American giants of aeronautics General Electric and Honeywell, although authorized by Washington. Since then, the two shores of the Atlantic talk to each other as much as possible in order to avoid situations that would poison diplomatic relations. As the President of the European Commission takes care of her relationship with the White House, the appointment of Fiona Scott Morton can be read in this context.
A sign of European naivety
But the advocates – especially in France – of a strategic autonomy for Europe hardly share this opinion. In Brussels, Commissioner Thierry Breton and his entourage made no secret of their hostility to this choice made by Danish Vice-President Margrethe Vestager. As economic competition intensifies between global blocs, the French see it as another sign of European naivety. “At a time when our institutions are under intense scrutiny in the face of foreign interference, we do not understand that non-European candidates are considered for such a strategic post,” wrote the presidents of the three major groups. policies of the European Parliament, recently shaken by a scandal linked to Qatar, on the initiative of the macronist Stéphane Séjourné. At the time when we close this issue, Margrethe Vestager had to come and explain herself to the elected officials. And it is still expected that Fiona Scott Morton will settle in Brussels on September 1st.