US economist drops bid for EU job after controversy over her nationality

Issued on: 19/07/2023 – 10:17

1 min

Yale University professor Fiona Scott Morton had been hired as chief economist by EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, but her appointment was criticised by EU lawmakers from the right and the left.

French President Emmanuel Macron also took issue with her selection, saying it raised “many questions” and noted that the United States or China would not hire a foreigner to such a job.

In a letter posted by Vestager on Twitter on Wednesday, Scott Morton said she was pulling out due to “the political controversy that has arisen because of the selection of a non-European to fill this position”.

“I have determined that the best course of action is for me to withdraw and not take up the Chief Economist position,” Scott Morton wrote in the letter addressed to Vestager.

Vestager tweeted: “I accept this with regret and hope that she will continue to use her extraordinary skill-set to push for strong competition enforcement.”

(AFP)