Grilled by lawmakers, Vestager defends chief economist appointment

BRUSSELS — European antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager faced lawmakers on Tuesday, fielding criticism and questions in Parliament over the controversial appointment of American Fiona Scott Morton to be the EU’s new chief competition economist.

The Commission executive vice president was unequivocal in defending the appointment: “I would never ever ask the [College of Commissioners] to appoint a person I do not trust 100 percent,” she said.

“I understand there are two aspects in the view of some that put [the choice] in question: She is an American citizen and possible [conflicts of interest],” Vestager said before the ECON Committee, summing up much of the opposition to the appointment, which has from come from some Commission officials and French President Emmanuel Macron, among others.

Vestager said there were “not that many people in the world who fit this very specific role” and who were willing and able to take a temporary post in Brussels. As such, the College of Commissioners made the decision in March to expand recruitment for the role to worldwide applicants. Only four candidates fit the post’s requirements, three of them were Europeans — but Scott Morton was the best, Vestager explained.

“Professor Scott Morton, and the Commission, [have] been fully transparent” on her previous work as a consultant, “including the fact that some of her past clients have included tech companies,” Vestager said. “What I can always say at this stage is that there is no indication of a general conflict in relation to the Digital Markets Act, or to the Foreign Subsidiaries Regulation.”

Vestager said the conflict-of-interest assessment of the appointment was ongoing, but confirmed that Scott Morton could work on DMA files and said it was common for industrial economists to work as consultants. She repeated several times there were “very few” potential conflict-of-interest cases and said the idea that Scott Morton couldn’t handle tech work in the role was “simply not true.”

The chief competition economist advises the Commission on major antitrust files — from mergers to state aid decisions — and in the fall will be in charge of ushering in the bloc’s landmark digital competition rulebook, the DMA. Nevertheless, Vestager stressed that it was not a decision-making position.

Vestager told lawmakers the security clearance, a requirement in the vacancy notice, was simply “not an issue” in this case. “I’m afraid that it sort of takes the excitement out of my work to say that you do not need a security clearance,” she said.

Three political groups in the European Parliament and some within the Commission questioned Vestager’s choice — though not openly. Several NGOs have fought the appointment, but most of the criticism has come from France. Members of the French government and the powerful Medef business lobby openly opposed the appointment. Le Monde, France’s leading daily newspaper, criticized the decision in a harsh editorial, saying the nomination is “shocking.”

Macron, the French president, voiced his criticism as he was leaving the EU-CELAC summit in Brussels on Tuesday. If the Commission can’t a European researcher qualified for the role, “it is very disturbing” and “we have a big problem,” he told journalists.

“I am very attached to reciprocity, I would be in favor of this configuration if I saw the Americans hiring a European economist to be at the heart of White House decisions and the Chinese the same,” Macron continued.

French Trade Minister Olivier Becht also told lawmakers in Paris that Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna would raise the issue with her European counterparts at Thursday’s Foreign Affairs Council.

Despite the backlash to her appointment, Scott Morton, a Yale professor and former U.S. antitrust chief economist, is highly respected in her field. Martin Peitz, who heads the Mannheim Center for Competition and Innovation, called her “a stellar economist.” Peitz co-signed a letter in support of Scott Morton, along with 38 other prominent economists.

As she pushes for stronger controls on platforms and other tech giants in the digital economy, Scott Morton revealed her work for some of the most prominent names in Big Tech. A consultant with Charles River Associates since 2006, Scott Morton worked for companies such as Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Sanofi and Pfizer.

“From what I hear, it is about [Scott Morton’s] passport,” Vestager said. She also pointed out that the Commission had navigated conflict-of-interest issues under Scott Morton’s predecessor without it becoming a problem.

“What is the difference between” Scott Morton and “the previous chief economist, who was a European?”

Laura Kayali, Giorgio Leali and Paola Tamma contributed reporting.