Fiona Scott Morton will join the team responsible for regulating digital giants in Brussels. Her past at the US Department of Justice and her activity as a consultant to certain Gafam are worrying European politicians on all sides.
It is a recruitment that does not appeal to everyone. The European Commission confirmed on Friday 14 July the appointment of the American Fiona Scott Morton for the regulation of the tech giants in Brussels. The French government had called for the cancellation of this decision, taken on Tuesday, which was rejected by the European executive. The leaders of the four main groups in the European Parliament joined in this request. Franceinfo takes stock of this controversial arrival.
1Who is Fiona Scott Morton?
Fiona Scott Morton, 56, attended prestigious American schools. After studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), she is now a professor of economics at Yale University. She was also responsible for the antitrust division of the American Department of Justice, between May 2011 and December 2012, under the presidency of Barack Obama. This economist has above all a past as a consultant, in particular for large groups such as Amazon and Apple.
She has been chosen as the new chief economist at the Directorate General for Competition by the European Commission, under the direction of the pet peeve of Gafam, the European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager. Fiona Scott Morton will be responsible for ensuring compliance with competition rules within the European Union. In particular, it will have to investigate the abuse of a dominant position by the digital giants, which has given rise to record fines in recent years.
2Why is his nomination controversial?
European elected officials from all sides denounce both a risk of conflict of interest and that of American interference in the heart of European institutions. Because the appointment of Fiona Scott Morton comes at a time when the EU must implement ambitious new legislation to regulate the digital sector, after the adoption of the recent DMA (Digital Markets Act) and DSA (Digital Services Act) regulations.
In the European Parliament, the leaders of the PPE (right-wing), S&D (social democrats), Renew (centrist and liberal) and Greens groups have written to the Commission asking it “to annul this decision”, in a letter dated Friday. The MEPs also castigated the choice to propel a non-European person to this post. “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 post”write the German Manfred Weber, the Spaniard Iratxe Garcia Perez, the Frenchman Stéphane Séjourné and the Belgian Philippe Lamberts in this letter.
“As she has advised large groups such as Apple, Amazon and Microsoft”that “would lead to the absurd scenario in which the chief economist of the competition authority would be kept out of important cases”was offended the German environmentalist MEP Rasmus Andresen. “Hiring a chief economist who is a former Gafam lobbyist at a time when the European Union wants to regulate these Gafams is a problem”also pointed to Conservative MEP Geoffroy Didier on franceinfo.
In France, members of the government were publicly surprised by this choice. “Digital regulation is a key issue for France and for Europe. This appointment deserves to be reconsidered by the Commission”reacted Thursday evening the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna. “Europe has many talented economists”underlined for her part the Secretary of State for Europe, Laurence Boone, former chief economist of the OECD, in a tweet. The Minister Delegate for the Digital Transition, Jean-Noël Barrot, made a similar analysis.
3 How does the European Commission justify its choice?
The Commission assured that it had respected its recruitment rules. The procedure was launched in February and open from the start to non-EU nationals, in order to have a wider choice for very specialized skills, explained Commission spokesperson European, Dana Spinant. The recruitment of a “recognized expert in economic and competition issues from a non-European nationality shows that the Commission seeks above all to base its decisions on the best possible expertise, and this is a signal of competence and openness”she said.
The Commission also relativizes the responsibilities that will be assumed by Fiona Scott Morton. “It’s not a position where you are empowered to make decisions, it’s an advisory position” with Margrethe Vestager, assured Dana Spinant.