Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Ashton designates six new 'strategic partners'

  • Ms Ashton talking with the Spanish (c) and French foreign ministers at the summit (Photo: consilium.europa.eu)

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton has indicated that Egypt, Israel, Indonesia, Pakistan, Ukraine and South Korea could join the EU's existing list of privileged or "strategic" partners.

Ms Ashton put forward the new names in a powerpoint presentation at a meeting of EU leaders and foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday (16 September). The roll-call of six countries ended with a "..." to indicate that the club remains open to other up-and-coming powers, an EU diplomatic source said.

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

The same powerpoint presentation listed Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and the US as the set of existing strategic partners.

The term "strategic partner" is ill-defined in EU usage. In practice, it means boosting a foreign country's diplomatic status and organising summits and extra minister-level and expert-level meetings. But it can also be taken to mean an alternative to fully-fledged EU membership.

"It's like love - no one can define it. You only know what it is when you experience it," the EU diplomatic contact added.

Another diplomat remarked that the term had been thought up a few years ago "without anyone ever really defining what it meant and whether, indeed, the others regard us as their strategic partners."

Ms Ashton's list has no official status and was put forward as part of a general brainstorming session on how to make the EU more effective on the world stage.

But it has the potential to stir controversy. EU plans to upgrade EU relations with Israel were put on hold after its attack on Gaza in 2009. Asked by reporters after the meeting if Ms Ashton plans to unfreeze the upgrade, she said: "There's no discussions at the moment with Israel."

In the case of Ukraine, inclusion on the list could be taken as a sign that EU accession is not an option. The omission of Turkey could be good news for its EU bid.

Speaking at the post-summit press conference, EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy said a rethink of EU foreign policy is needed in the wake of the 2009 Copenhagen climate change conference, where the US clinched a deal with developing countries while the EU was out of the room.

"The perception is that the EU was sidelined," he said. "We have started to realise how the economic strength of developing countries is transforming into real political power."

EU commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said: "Even the biggest one of the member states is not as big as any one of our strategic partners."

The protocol at the EU's foreign-policy-focused summit highlighted the Lisbon Treaty's lack of clarity on the Van Rompuy-Ashton pecking order.

The treaty says Mr Van Rompuy is to "ensure the external representation of the union ... without prejudice" to Ms Ashton. The baroness did not feature in the official press conference, however. And she hovered on the edge of the EU family photo.

"The power lies where you have the machinery, the troops, the soldiers. And the EU's foreign policy machinery is in the EEAS," an EU official said, referring to Ms Ashton's European External Action Service.

"It's normal that Van Rompuy keeps a small secretariat dealing with foreign policy. She has no problem with that. Lady Ashton has de facto 136 ambassadors at her disposal. She has their mobile phones. There's no comparison."

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