A spat in Brussels pits an open vision of Europe against an insular one

Paris, Rome, Amsterdam: Americans are everywhere you look in Europe these days, sweltering as they queue for tourist attractions in the midst of a heatwave. One place where they are apparently not welcome is Brussels. A proposal by the European Commission to appoint an American citizen, Fiona Scott Morton, as chief economist to its competition arm fell through on July 19th. After a week of French-led protests at the idea of une Américaine! advising the EU’s executive arm in its trust-busting efforts, the Yale professor said she was no longer interested. What could have been a signal of admirable European openness to the world has instead underlined the growing influence of those who think the continent needs a more insular, Europe-first approach.