'Ramshackle' EU efforts at UN annoyed allies

The European Union's surprise upset in New York this week in its attempts to win expanded rights at the United Nations was a result of "ramshackle" strategy that even disgruntled some of the bloc's closest allies, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, according to diplomats close to the proceedings.

"One word describes how the EU acted there: Confusion, overall confusion," one diplomat told EUobserver.

"It was a ramshackle, pretty disorganised EU strategy," the official continued. "T...