EU FIGHT OVER FOREIGN POLICY CONTROL BEGINS / THE NEW YORK TIMES ( RECOMMENDED READING )

EU fight over foreign policy control begins


By Stanley Pignal in Brussels

Published: March 4 2010 20:03

The first skirmishes have broken out in what promises to be a ferocious institutional battle over who will control the European Union’s common foreign policy, as member states fight off attempts from the European Commission to dominate the bloc’s budding diplomatic service.
In a letter released on Thursday, David Miliband and Carl Bildt, foreign ministers of Britain and Sweden, wrote to Lady Ashton, the EU’s high representative for foreign and security policy, warning of the bitter battle ahead in her efforts to build a European External Action Service that moves beyond the programmes run by the Commission in Brussels.

Disagreements over the reach and role of the EEAS have come to the surface recently, with the Commission fighting to keep control over bits of its bureaucracy that deal with matters overlapping diplomats’ traditional powers.

A clear majority of the EU’s 27 member states are determined to exert greater influence over the service and are keen to appoint diplomats from their national capitals to senior posts.

The letter came ahead of a crucial meeting between Lady Ashton and foreign ministers on Friday, where she will present a draft proposal she has put forward on how to organise the service. A final version is expected within six weeks.

Despite some foreign ministers having openly attacked aspects of her tenure as high representative, many now side with her against the Commission.

“We are concerned about some of the inter-institutional struggles evident in our current negotiations on the [European] EAS package,” they wrote. “You should know that you have our solid support.”

Many of their proposals touch on seemingly mundane operational matters, but the broader issue is whether the EU’s new flagship diplomatic body is a continuation of current Commission structures or a break with the status quo.

The Commission played down the ministers’ letter. “The letter is one of many contributions,” an official said. “The college of commissioners is looking forward to debating the EEAS on March 11.”

“The devil is in the details in these negotiations,” said one EU official. “The member states only this week realised that the Commission was trying to take over this baby that they have crafted, and they want it back. They are firmly in Ashton’s camp.”

Both the EEAS and Lady Ashton’s role were created by the Lisbon treaty, the EU’s new constitutional framework, which came into force in December. Partly because of her previous lack of diplomatic experience, and partly because of perceived early gaffes, Lady Ashton is seen as being on the back foot compared to other Brussels operators, in particular José Manuel Barroso, the Commission president.

The recent appointment by Mr Barroso of a close ally to the post of EU representative to Washington was widely viewed as undermining Lady Ashton’s authority, and angered many foreign ministers who would have expected to be consulted.

Now the Commission – of which Lady Ashton is a vice-president – is proposing a vision for the EEAS at odds with what most member states had in mind, with the aim of keeping more decision-making powers in Brussels.

Member states want at least one-third of the external action service to be filled by national diplomats, as opposed to eurocrats.


Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010.