Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Ashton secures deal on new diplomatic service

  • The diplomatic service has caused fierce turf wars in Brussels (Photo: European Commission)

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has finalised her blueprint for the EU's first ever diplomatic service after the European Commission on Wednesday (24 March) agreed to give her key powers over the EU's multi-billion euro annual development budget.

According to UK daily The Guardian, Ms Ashton will be in charge of regional and country strategy in the development field. The service, expected to contain around 7,000 people when it is fully established, will also be in charge of drawing up the strategic priorities for the EU's neighbourhood policy, dealing with countries on its borders.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

These two areas had been the subject of a fierce battle between Ms Ashton and the commission, which had been determined to hang on to as many of its powers as possible.

According to an EU official, the deal represents a "workable compromise" with the external action service involved in three of the five steps of the planning cycle for development, while the commission is in charge of two.

Under the set-up, Ms Ashton will head the service and also be responsible for appointing its staff, which the treaty specifies should be divided equally among the commission, the council and member states. Staff are to have the same rights and obligations whether they come from the commission, the council secretariat or from national diplomatic services.

The blueprint, expected to be circulated today, comes a week earlier than had been expected. But it still needs to be agreed by member states, while MEPs have co-decision powers over staffing and financial rules, which need to be changed to accommodate the service.

Deputies have raised concerns about the secretary general of the new corps, saying that in the proposed set-up the person will be too powerful and will lack political accountability. The parliament is also arguing that Ms Ashton, who has a busy and often conflicting schedule, needs political deputies to represent her in the meetings she is unable to personally attend.

This in turn has raised concerns from the part of some member states who believe the parliament will try and play political games with the deputies, dictating which political family they come from.

Meanwhile, member states are concerned that commission officials are dominating the service. Governments are already lining up to get a national into key jobs. Around six CVs have been sent in for the job of head of the EU delegation in China. In addition, a group of 11 smaller member states, led by Austria, has clubbed together to complain about representation in the service. They say they will only have a few diplomats each, with the service slated to have around 100 places for national diplomats at the beginning.

Ms Ashton has said she is aware of the need for the balance in the staff but said it will take time to make it happen, with the service expected to take some years before it fully equipped.

The British peer had been hoping to have agreement on the blueprint by the end of next month. However, the potential disputes mean the technical decisions to get the service up and running, such as on the staffing regulation, may see it delayed to summer or early autumn.

Finnish PM: Russia preparing for 'long conflict with West'

Finland, which shares a border with Russia, has cautioned about the danger of a Russian attack in coming years. Russia is not "invincible" but "self-satisfaction is no longer an option," Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo said.

EU Commission proposes opening Bosnia accession talks

Eight years on, the EU Commission is to recommend on Tuesday that member states open accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina after the country took "impressive steps" to meet the bloc's standards, Ursula von der Leyen said.

Opinion

How the EU can raise its game in the Middle East

Could the EU repair its reputation and credibility by taking action on Gaza? EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, Spain, Belgium and Ireland, have worked hard to repair the damage, but have faced political headwinds due to internal divisions.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us