The European Commission “sees no reason to reconsider” the controversial recruitment of the American Fiona Scott Morton, ex-lobbyist and former executive of the Obama administration, to a key post for the regulation of the tech giants, announced a spokeswoman on Friday. The French government asked the European executive on Thursday to reconsider this choice, a request taken up on Friday by the leaders of the four main political groups in the European Parliament who denounce the risks of conflict of interest and interference from Washington.
“The decision has been made”
“The decision has been made. We see no reason to reconsider it,” Commission spokeswoman Dana Spinant told the 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.
The nomination provoked indignant 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.
“We do not understand that non-European candidates are considered for such a strategic position”
In the European Parliament, the leaders of the EPP group (right), the German Manfred Weber, of the S&D (social democrats), the Spaniard Iratxe Garcia Perez, of Renew (centrists and liberals), the Frenchman Stéphane Séjourné, and of the Greens , the Belgian Philippe Lamberts (Greens), also wrote to the Commission to ask it “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”, they explain. in a letter dated Friday to EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
The powerful Directorate General for Competition is responsible for ensuring the proper functioning of competition in the European Union and for investigating in particular abuses of dominant position by digital giants, which have resulted in record fines in recent years.
The appointment of Fiona Scott Morton comes at a time when the EU must implement ambitious new legislation to regulate this sector. She feeds criticism against Ursula von der Leyen, considered very Atlanticist.