An American woman has been appointed chief economist of the EU's Directorate-General for Competition. Whose interests will she defend? Usa or EU?

[Julie4]

I wish it were a joke, but Fiona Scott Morton, an American who has worked for some of America's biggest companies, has been appointed the new chief economist of the EU's Directorate General (DG) for Competition.

Fiona Scott Morton is expected to provide advice to this Commission body responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the European market: combating unfair practices, promoting smart growth, regulating GAFAM.

What's even more astonishing is that this appointment doesn't even comply with EU regulations, as it is a requirement for such a position that the person concerned be of European nationality.

I see this as a Trojan horse.

[RavVid]

I know little of economics and even less on big business (other than it is highly inefficient and slow to respond to markets) but I wouldn't be quite so down on Fiona Morton now failed hiring.. Fiona Morton has good credentials in the tech sector which is why she was attractive as I understand it.

Most professional people can be professional in acting in the best interests of the body employing them. There is no reason for Pepsi not to hire somebody who did good work for Coca Cola because that is a rival company.

Europe has the objective of gaining 20% of global chip production by 2030 which is double it's 2021 share of 10%. To do so it must quadruple it's output in 6 years - by 2030 - as world chip production will double. It is quite a big task! That 20% goal seems to have been driven by chip autarky as Europe consumes 20% of global manufacture. I remember Macron advocating chip self sufficiency. It would be easy to go backwards and become more dependent and lead times are very long now - up to a year for some chips.

The chip industry is characterized by long food chains with some companies having one product for one company. One dependency was on Ukraine for noble gasses. You can guess how much is being churned out by Avostal in Mariupol today.

Europe has a world monopoly on Extreme UV lithography due to one company (ASML) but there is large ecosphere of companies around it. Zeiss for example makes the EUV lenses. Next door in UK, is advanced ARM processor design.

For European autarky, it would want to establish what supplies come from risky sources (like Ukraine, maybe Taiwan) or just have constraints on supplying. Europe would presumably like to be able to supply all demands for chips natively.

There are different levels of chips and at the low end the processors are as cheap as chips (bad pun) worth cents but necessary for washing machines and those high end European domestic manufactures might collapse without chips worth less than a dollar.

Mid tier chips for automotive is pretty important. I forget the percentage of the cost of a car that electronics makes up - about 30-40% from memory.

Then the high tier for servers - all business is highly dependent now. Phones of course.

At a guess I would say Europe can't cover it all by 2030 across those three levels and would need to think it out as to where best it's 11 billion euros chip subsidy goes.

It is also quite risky. Intel and IBM both failed at manufacturing chips I hasten to point out. If those two can fail, European companies can. IBM's 2 nm design is finer than a strand of DNA. Presumably Europe would want some certainty on what it will get for its 11 bill and what it is best covering off - washing machines, cars or phones.

It is a complex industry with a lot of products dependent on it. So I can see why Fiona Morton's credentials were thought to be helpful.

I am quite sure Macron is right academia will have highly qualified economists. Whether a highly qualified economist with intensive knowledge of the semi-conductor industry is, is a more open question.

[RavVid]

If Philips hadn't dropped the ball three times, there would be no discussion. It was once #2. A brief overview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE58YisgFeQ

The EU has made various prior efforts. I hope the current efforts work more effectively.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpSdytrNEBg

[Julie4]

You're making a mistake by comparing a company with political institutions like the EU. The EU is not Coca-Cola or Microsoft.

I'm not interested in Mrs Morton's skills in this particular case, but her nationality is.

The recruitment of an American citizen, whose exceptional skills are undisputed, reveals a triple blindness. Commissioner Vestager, a fervent supporter of unregulated free trade, has failed to see the risks of conflicts of loyalty, conflicts of interest and the lack of reciprocity to which Europe is subjecting itself.

It is well known that the United States puts all its power at the service of its commercial activism: intelligence services, extraterritoriality of American law, Itar standards... Ms. Scott Morton worked at the Department of Justice in the antitrust division which condemned major European companies, foremost among them BNP Paribas and Airbus, while generally sparing American companies. She has advised President Obama.

How can we believe that, from one day to the next, by virtue of signing a contract, she will submit to Article 11 of the Staff Regulations of European Officials "with the interests of the Union only in view"? She would be constantly faced with the Cornelian choice of honoring her contract or betraying the interests of a country she has already served well. This recruitment speaks volumes about the anthropological blindness of certain globalized elites who believe that a signature is worth more than a flag.

[RavVid]

I can see your reasons for skepticism. Inherently it is a conflict of interest issue that you are seeing. That she might steer the EU down a path that leads to a road block she has previously erected with a deliberate intent of impeding the EU.

I worry about politicians more because 1/ they can do inside jobs 2/ oddly they get cushy big business board positions post political career 3/ 2 implies 1. Schröder looks very suss. Even Merkle looks naive.

I strongly hope that the EU is successful in invigorating it's semi's industry and I think it is needful from a straight geopol perspective and a very good thing from a collective west perspective for Europe to have a strong semi's industrial base.

If I were an EU citizen, my concerns would center on politicians as previous efforts have failed.

[Avicenna]

LOL, a Yale professor representing US interests in an EU position? The chances of that are zero. The real conflict of interest for her is her consulting work for companies like Apple.

She does have a strong background in antitrust, enforcement of which is generally weak in the US.

Here's her CV: Fiona Morton CV

[madhatters4]

she opted not to take the position because Macron voiced concerns that she is not an EU national. i don't believe there is a rule saying an appointment has to be a Euro but it is a fair concern.

[rigmarole]

You think someone highly connected to the World Economic Forum is a "Trojan horse" huh... I think they are making it a little too obvious to people like you right now for you to consider them "Trojan horses". It's more like they kicked in your front door, walked in your living room shouting obscenities at you, dropped trow, and took a dump on your coffee table in front of your kids.

[BCA6010]

Trojan horse for what? The US political establishment turds she's in bed with and the EU are peas in a pod. The most cynical explanation is they're deliberately bringing her on to push something unpopular so she can be the scapegoat.

[OddBeMe]

I would imagine she’s not held to account in some why, by a minister or something. Isn’t the EU a continental wide parliamentary system? We have secretaries of commerce and ministers of defense who report to elected officials all the time.

[Guanfei]

The EU has never been anything else than a globalist organization who plans to dissolve its member states into a supranational entity, making it easier to sell parts of it to the highest bidders.

[Astarlessnightsky]

Like most politicians she will mostly act on behalf of super rich people.

[RyanEC]

I think this is bad.


Unfortunately the American government sees Europe as a “sort of colony” of America.


Hopefully she will be removed quickly.

[monorprise]

We seem to be following the pattern of Rome with Europe in the role of the Greeks.

[RyanEC]

I agree.
If anything I want America to be more European in some ways then they become more like the US.

[DarkLegacy]

I wish it was a joke and the devil looks after its own. The USA has always suited itself regardless

[Anonymous]

It could be a Trojan horse or a refection of the fact that Europeans have no confidence in their schools to teach real economics.

[WhiteBoyChill]

She’ll likely work for her own personal interests. That’s how American politicians in general tend to act.

She’s bought and paid for by somebody I’ll bet.

[Anonymous]

The interests are the same really. I would imagine both are interested in Keynesian economics.

[exitseven]

I heard she turned it down.

[Julie4]

Yes , thank god

[helva]

She is no longer on the job.

[msc545]

She will defend her own interests.

[Julie4]

It can defend its interests and American interests, which are not incompatible.