2023-07-19 09:15:40
His candidacy had been undermined by the reluctance of MEPs, as well as French officials, for several days. Emmanuel Macron had notably said he was “doubtful”.
After several days of controversy, the European Commission will finally not recruit an American to the post of chief economist of the Directorate General for Competition of the Union. In a message posted in particular on Twitter this Wednesday morning, the Commissioner in charge of Competition, Margrethe Vestager, indicated that Fiona Scott Morton chose to “do not accept the position».
«I am honored to have been chosen. […] However, in view of the political controversy that started due to the selection of a non-European to fill the post […]I have determined that the best course of action is to step down, and not take the job.“Wrote the researcher and teacher at Yale in a message shared on Twitter by the European commissioner. And to wishthe bestto Margrethe Vestager’s team. “I accept this with regret, and hope that she will continue to use her extraordinary skills to push for strong competition enforcement.“, commented, for her part, the representative of the Union.
This announcement was welcomed by many representatives. “We are satisfied with this decision which preserves European digital sovereignty“Commented the entourage of the French Minister Delegate in charge of Digital, Jean-Noël Barrot. “I welcome Fiona Scott Morton’s decision to withdraw her candidacy“, reacted the French MEP (Renew Europe) Stéphanie Yon-Courtin. “This is only a first step: we must now shed light on the process that led to this recruitment“, pleaded his colleague (EPP) François Xavier-Bellamy. “What is more astonishing is that it came from her, that she was defended by the Commission to the end while Parliament showed a united front“, was surprised the ecologist Karima Delli. “It is a defeat for the European Commission and a great victory for French interests.“, Considered, for its part, the RN group in the National Assembly.
Macron “doubtful”
Opponents of this appointment have therefore managed to bend the Commission, after several days of intense controversy. From the outset, the career of Fiona Scott Morton, certainly brilliant, made many officials wince, outraged by the arrival of an American who advised Tech giants in this strategic position. “Hiring an American lobbyist from GAFAM at a time when Europe was finally deciding to limit their power is a shame“, thus indignant the MEP Geoffroy Didier recently, when the director of the think tank American Economic Liberties Project described this choice as a “Trojan horse for Big Tech», in an interview at Monde .
In recent days, the controversy has taken on another dimension, as MEPs and French officials have railed against Brussels. Several tricolor ministers went to the front, and Emmanuel Macron was himself surprised by this appointment, saying to himself “doubtful“. Several European commissioners were also beginning to express reluctance, reported in a letter to the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, according to AFP. Hearing before the European Parliament on Tuesday, Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, for her part, justified her choice, considering that it “there weren’t many people in the world who fit this very specific role“. She will now have to restart the process to find another equally talented candidate, but European this time.
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