European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager speaks during a press conference in Brussels on June 14, 2023 (AFP/John THYS)
European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager will be heard on Tuesday in the European Parliament over the controversial appointment of American Fiona Scott Morton to a key post for the regulation of tech giants.
This appointment as new chief economist at the Directorate General for Competition has been deemed scandalous by MEPs who are demanding explanations.
Elected officials, mainly in France, pinned down her former functions as head of economic analysis at the antitrust division of the US Department of Justice, between 2011 and 2012, or as a consultant for major tech groups such as Amazon, Apple and Microsoft.
They denounce possible conflicts of interest and the risk of interference by Washington in EU decisions.
The European Commission had addressed Friday an end of inadmissibility to the French government, which claims the cancellation of the recruitment of this professor of economics at the prestigious university of Yale.
Ms Vestager’s hearing, scheduled for late Tuesday afternoon, will be open to all MEPs and should be broadcast live on the Parliament’s website.
“We are waiting for clear answers to specific questions about this unprecedented choice,” MEP Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (Renew, centrists and liberals) told AFP, at the initiative of this hearing.
“How is it that a candidate who was a Gafam lobbyist was not automatically excluded from such a high position within the management that will regulate these Gafam? How could the Commission not imagine that this could create a conflict of interest and cause a scandal? Was she naive or guilty?” Asks MEP Geoffroy Didier (EPP, right).
The Competition Commissioner “appreciates” this opportunity for dialogue, “it’s a good opportunity to be able to defend this decision taken by the college of commissioners”, an official of the European executive told AFP, under cover of anonymity. “We mainly saw French reactions,” he said.
– “Cancel this decision” –
In the European Parliament, the leaders of the EPP, S&D (Social Democrats), Renew and Greens groups wrote to Ms Vestager on Friday asking her “to cancel this decision”.
“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.
But the latter has since changed his mind and finally supports the nomination after having been able to exchange with Ms. Scott Morton.
Asked by AFP, it declined to comment.
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 Mrs. Scott Morton comes at a time when the EU must implement ambitious new legislation to regulate this sector. It fuels criticism against Ms. Vestager and Ms. von der Leyen, considered very Atlanticist.
However, the Commission relativizes the responsibilities that will be assumed by Ms. Scott Morton, ensuring that it is not a decision-making position but only an advisory function to Ms. Vestager.
Brussels also rules out any risk of conflict of interest. The chief economist will not be involved in files on which she worked or of which she had knowledge in her previous employment, it was explained.
Ms. Scott Morton received Monday the support of forty renowned economists, including the French Philippe Aghion and Olivier Blanchard.
“We Europeans are very lucky to have attracted someone of his caliber,” they said in a joint forum, believing that she had “worked tirelessly to convince American legislators to modernize the regulation of large technology companies”.
© 2023 AFP
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