2023-07-19 09:27:00
Too many controversies have finally got the better of the will of the American economist Fiona Scott Morton to integrate, on September 1st, the European Commission to the post of chief economist of the Directorate General for Competition. In a letter addressed to Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, she said she was renouncing this position for which she was selected on Tuesday July 11.
“Given the political controversy,” she writes, “that arose due to the selection of a non-European to fill this post and the importance that the Director General has the full support of the European Union as she applies it, I have determined that the best course of action is for me to step aside and not serve as Chief Economist. »
This outcome was the most likely at the end of a very unpleasant day, Tuesday July 18, for Margrethe Vestager, convened by the Econ committee, which did not convince the parliamentarians – including four groups, the EPP, the S & D, Renew and the Greens, had protested by official letter.
At the limit of condescension, the Danish commissioner refused to make public the conflicts of interest of her candidate with the Gafam, specifying that it was customary for them to be detailed after the appointment and before the signing of the contract.
Macron “doubtful”
The Dane did not explain why Ms. Scott Morton did not need a security clearance when the job description required this clearance. She spoke highly of the parliamentarians, expressing her surprise that never before have MEPs been interested in the personalities who held the post of chief economist, and asserting that not one MEP was capable of knowing their name. . In short, for the Dane, the European Parliament did not have to stick its nose in the management of Commission staff members.
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A few hours earlier, President Macron had driven home the point, saying he was “doubtful” about the Commission’s choice. The Head of State said he was “very attached to the strategic autonomy of Europe”. He underlined the lack of “reciprocity” on the part of the United States and China to appoint Europeans who would be “at the heart of [leurs] decisions”.
“She has been hired by a lot of companies and should step back from these situations, which makes it quite ineffective for what we hire her for”, he underlined. In addition, Commissioners Thierry Breton, Paolo Gentiloni, Nicolas Schmit, Elisa Ferreira and High Representative Josep Borrell called on Ursula von der Leyen to “re-examine” her decision. The case became unplayable for Fiona Scott Morton, whose professional qualities are not questioned by anyone.
Collateral damages
This case will do some collateral damage: Margrethe Vestager was to apply for the European Investment Bank. Many of them, in the alleys of Brussels, believe that this controversy has greatly reduced their chances. Parliamentarians, vexed, will demand, in the future, to be much more closely consulted on the allocation of important posts in the Commission.
Ursula von der Leyen, finally, appears weakened at the start of this last year of mandate in the face of Member States, France in the lead – but also Italy and Greece -, who made her understand who the real bosses were. of the European Union.
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A controversy that leaves a bitter taste and in which the lack of discernment of the elites of the Commission comes to light. The Spanish candidate, finalist against Scott Morton, Jose Ganuza Fernandez, has every chance. He is a doctor in economics from the University Carlos III of Madrid, who continued his research at the University of Toulouse and California.
His publications are numerous. He was a professor at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. During the interviews he had with the Commission’s selection committee, he demonstrated, according to the report, that Point was able to consult, a “solid expertise” and a “commitment to the application of competition law”.
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