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Fiona Scott Morton, 56, the former chief economist at the U.S.
Department of Justice during former President Barack Obama's
tenure, will take up her three-year stint on Sept. 1 when the
current chief economist, Pierre Regibeau, retires.
She will be the first non-EU national, first U.S. national and
first woman for the job.
The leaders of the four main political parties at the European
Parliament on Friday wrote to Vestager asking her to reconsider
her decision, echoing calls from two French ministers a day
earlier.
They cited the strategic importance of the post, potential
conflicts of interest due to Scott Morton's previous work with
Big Tech, and her previous public antitrust comments.
Commission spokeswoman Dana Spinant brushed aside the criticism.
"The college endorsed the proposal to appoint this person to the
position. The decision was made. We see no grounds to
reconsider," she told a daily press conference.
Head of the centre-right group European People's Party Manfred
Weber, president of the liberals' group Renew Europe Stephane
Sejourne, head of the socialists group Iratxe Garcia Perez and
the heads of the green party Philippe Lamberts and Terry Reintke
said they opposed the new hire.
To avoid conflicts of interest, Scott Morton will not work on
cases in which she has previously been involved, or on cases
involving companies for which she had worked for previously as a
consultant.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Jan Harvey)
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