MEPs fine-tune 'tactics' on diplomatic service

BRUSSELS - Members of the European Parliament are busy fine-tuning their tactics to make sure they get the crucial points on their lengthy wish-list incorporated into the EU's new diplomatic service.

With EU governments having given political agreement to the blueprint for the service last week, the focus is now on the parliament, which has co-decision powers on key aspects of the new institution.

German centre-right MEP Elmar Brok, whose report on the External Action Service (EAS) is to adopted before member states can formally sign off the blueprint, was keen to stress the importance of tactical manuoeuvring during debates in the constitutional and foreign affairs committee on Tuesday (4 May).

He said that parliament's decision to treat his non-binding opinion and its binding legal decisions on the EAS' financial and staff regulations as a single package is designed to ensure that member states cannot renege on agreements when the service comes up for review in 2013.

Parliament is angling to include as many of its demands as possible into the changed rules on the EAS financial and staff regulations, where the EU assembly has equal say alongside member states.

"The Council is at liberty to change its decision [in the 2013 review] to our disadvantage. So we have to take full advantage of that in our tactics," Mr Brok said. "So this is why we have to take the decision in the full knowledge of what it says it the staff regulation. Only then, only after that, can we put forward a report."

MEPs' wish-list

Belgian liberal MEP Guy Verhofstadt, co-author of Mr Brok's report, listed about a dozen points that the parliament would like to see incorporated into the service, which is supposed to have around 8,000 personnel once it is up and running and is to give greater clarity to the EU's foreign policy.

The points include making the EAS politically and financially accountable to the parliament, ensuring geographical and gender balance, giving MEPs access to "sensitive documents" and ensuring internal coherence within the service. The wish-list also seeks to make sure there is a clear political responsibility within the service for crisis management operations.

Mr Verhofstadt indicated that accountability, the budget and the lines of command on development policy are the "main problems." He noted that if member states "can't go along" with parliament, MEPs would simply submit more amendments calling for all areas where the commission traditionally has powers, such as neighbourhood policy, to be taken out of the service and given back to the commission.

Parliament is particularly keen to see a comprehensive budget that does not separate administrative and operational spending, as member states want.

However, this is also something of a red line for member states, which want more independence over administrative decisions.

"The fact that we are requesting a certain independence with regard to budget and with regard to staff is due to the fact that this has been the political condition for the Council in order to accept a broad service - a service that ranges from traditional community external policy to crisis management to militarty operation," said Poul Skytte Christoffersen, a top advisor to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

A 'different world'

"If we don't accept a certain distance and a certain independence with regard to staff and budget that basic political condition falls away and we are in a completely different world," he added.

He pressed parliament to make progress quickly saying "time is of the essence."

Some MEPs are also conscious of the time issue, but apparently as much out of a fear that a decision should be made before a possible British Conservative government gets into power. Brussels fears that the eurosceptic Tories, should they be elected into power later this week, will obstruct the setting up of the service.

Referring to the "eve of the British election," UK liberal MEP Andrew Duff said: "It's very important we get this thing in place as fast as possible."