On Wednesday 19 July, the Vice-President of the European Commission for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, regretfully announced that Professor Fiona Scott Morton was withdrawing from the role of Chief Economist in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition. Ms Scott Morton was due to take up this post on 1 September.
In a letter to Margrethe Vestager, Ms Scott Morton explained her decision in the light of the political controversy that followed the announcement of her appointment, arguing that the Directorate-General for Competition needed to have full support when implementing the rules.
Fiona Scott Morton adds in her letter that the enforcement of modern competition regulation, and in particular new instruments such as the Digital Markets Act, is crucial for European citizens and those of third countries.
The controversy began after the European Commission announced the appointment of Ms Scott Morton to DG Competition on 11 July.
The controversy centred on the fear of possible conflicts of interest arising from Fiona Scott Morton’s consultancy activities, particularly for major companies in the tech sector, and on concerns regarding revolving doors at the end of her term of office.
The second area of criticism concerned Ms Scott Morton’s American nationality.
For Margrethe Vestager, there are few people in the world who have both the skills and experience required and the availability to take up the role. This is why, according to the Commissioner, the College had opened the role up to all nationalities (see EUROPE 13225/19).
On the Member States’ side, France in particular had expressed its hope that the Commission would reconsider its decision (see EUROPE B13222B29, 13223/4, 13224/7).
The discussion spread to the College of Commissioners. According to AFP, five members of the College - Josep Borrell, Thierry Breton, Elisa Ferreira, Paolo Gentiloni and Nicolas Schmit - wrote to the President, Ursula von der Leyen, asking for a reassessment of Ms Scott Morton’s appointment.
On the other hand, other voices, notably among MEPs, including Reinhard Bütikofer (Greens/EFA, German) and academics linked to economics, had expressed their support for this appointment (see EUROPE 13224/7).
Dr Christophe Carugati wrote for the Bruegel think tank that Ms Scott Morton could pose a problem for Member State politicians and European Commissioners, “who believe that a successful industrial policy requires some relaxation of competition and/or State aid rules within the EU”.
Following the announcement on Wednesday 19 July, Agnès Evren (EPP, French) reacted by welcoming the withdrawal of Ms Scott Morton in the wake of a hearing with Ms Vestager that she found unconvincing. This view was shared by Geoffroy Didier (EPP, French), who described Ms Scott Morton as “a friend of the platforms”. Similarly, Raphaël Gluckmann (S&D, French) felt that Ms Scott Morton was a lobbyist for GAFAM.
However, for Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Greens/EFA, Danish), who took part in the consultation the day before, it is unfortunate that Emmanuel Macron and the French MEPs have turned the issue into a question of nationality. The MEP felt that this was a mistaken notion of sovereignty and added that recruitment should be based on skills, not nationality.
Volker Nölke, Professor of Economics at the University of Mannheim, pointed out that the European Commission’s recruitment procedures were so cumbersome that few successful academics were prepared to go through them, and called for reform. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)