French president wades into transatlantic row over selection of Fiona Scott Morton as bloc’s chief competition economist

Emmanuel Macron has waded into a growing row over the appointment of an American to a role at the heart of the EU directorate that oversees the regulation of big US tech companies including Apple and Google.

Fiona Scott Morton, a former Obama administration anti-trust official, was appointed by the EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager last week, prompting strong criticism from French politicians including the foreign minister Catherine Colonna who urged the EU to “reconsider” her appointment.