European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager speaks during a news conference in Brussels, on Oct. 16, 2019.Virginia Mayo/The Associated Press
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager will appear at a European Parliament committee’s hearing on Tuesday where she will be grilled by lawmakers on her choice of a U.S. economist for a key EU antitrust job, her communications adviser told Reuters on Monday.
The appointment of Fiona Scott Morton, 56, the former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Justice during former President Barack Obama’s tenure, has been criticized by France and leaders of the main political groups at the European Parliament.
Criticism has focused on Scott Morton’s nationality, with many asking why an EU citizen has not been picked to advise the European Commission on its investigations into Big Tech and its enforcement of a series of landmark rules to rein in the tech giants.
Critics have also pointed to potential conflicts of interest due to Scott Morton’s consulting work for some U.S. tech companies although the Commission said she would not be involved in cases involving the firms at the EU executive.
The case has caused an uproar in France, with a flurry of French government ministers urging the Commission to reconsider the decision, while French politicians from all sides of the political spectrum have also been critical of the move.
The French business confederation also weighed in late last week, issuing a rare statement criticizing the Commission’s decision as “naïve” and “indifferent to European public opinion.” France’s flagship newspaper Le Monde called it “shocking” in an editorial on Monday.
Although France was the only country to complain publicly, sources said the appointment faced pushback from commissioners from Italy, Spain, Greece and Austria.
“Other countries are doing it more discreetly,” an EU diplomat told Reuters.