European Union grapples with the fallout from the Fiona Scott Morton fiasco
20 July 2023 00:00
Duration: 13:07
The ultimately unsuccessful attempt to hire an American competition expert to fill the coveted role of chief economist with the European Commission’s antitrust division has highlighted institutional divisions in the bloc. No-one involved in the Fiona Scott Morton affair has emerged well from the fiasco, which pitted French President Emmanuel Macron against EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. The controversy has also raised questions about revolving doors with Big Tech and whether an American should ever be considered for key roles in the EU executive.
Contributors
James Panichi Senior Editor, Asia Pacific
James, an Australian journalist with over 25 years’ experience in print and electronic media, helps to oversee MLex’s coverage of regulatory risk in Asia, with special attention to Australia and New Zealand. In 2016, James was appointed as MLex’s managing editor for continental Europe, overseeing the Brussels bureau’s coverage of EU regulatory affairs and managing a team of 16 journalists in Brussels and Geneva. Previously James worked for the European Voice newspaper, before joining the... Read more
Lewis Crofts Editor-at-Large
Lewis leads MLex's editorial strategy, content direction, quality and development. He has a reputation for breaking stories and providing analysis on complex legal disputes before regulators and courts around the globe. He has also developed MLex's unrivalled coverage of competition policy, litigation, regulation, Brexit and international investigations.A graduate of Oxford University, Lewis worked in academia at the Charles University in Prague prior to becoming a journalist.
Natalie McNelis Senior Correspondent
Natalie McNelis covers mergers for MLex in Brussels. Before joining MLex in 2017, she spent 20 years as an international trade and competition lawyer in law firms including Stibbe and WilmerHale. Natalie has a BA in English from Mount Holyoke College, a JD from Harvard Law School and an LLM in EU law from KU Leuven. She is admitted to the bar in New York.