EU's Ashton sets out diplomatic vision

Advertisement

MEPs debated the EU's foreign policy.

The EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, says Europe has a "once in a generation opportunity" to build a robust new diplomatic service.

Addressing the European Parliament, Lady Ashton pointed to EU successes in the post-conflict Western Balkans as a model for future action.

She said that in the Western Balkans "more than anywhere else" the EU "cannot afford to fail".

MEPs are discussing the structure of a new European External Action Service.

The service - known as the EEAS - is the focus of intense debate between the EU's institutions, which want to ensure their influence is not diluted.

Ashton under scrutiny

The BBC's Dominic Hughes in Brussels says Lady Ashton has been criticised as too inexperienced for the new job of EU High Representative - and she must convince MEPs that she can provide the leadership such a complex project needs.

EUROPEAN EXTERNAL ACTION SERVICE (EEAS) Headed by Lady Ashton as EU High Representative Will eventually have about 6,000 staff Fuses foreign services of EU Commission and 27-nation Council, plus diplomats from EU nations' foreign ministries Will have own section of EU budget Created by Lisbon Treaty to make EU foreign policy more coherent Blog: Ashton's EU turf battle

Our correspondent says her biggest battle remains with those in the EU's executive arm - the European Commission - who are reluctant to surrender powers that member states want to delegate to the new foreign service.

Lady Ashton - who was confirmed in her post only last month - highlighted the EU's role in Kosovo and Bosnia-Hercegovina, calling it "multi-faceted" and "tailor-made" to local conditions.

The EU's rapid despatch of a monitoring mission to war-ravaged Georgia also showed "what the EU can do when we fully mobilise our resources". The EU brokered a truce to halt fighting between Georgia and Russia in August 2008.

Lady Ashton said the EU needed "stronger structures, more flexibility, if we want Georgia to be the benchmark for our action in future".

"Wider international credibility depends on getting our neighbourhood right," she told MEPs.

Lisbon changes

She has replaced the former EU High Representative - Javier Solana - but her job is also to represent the European Commission abroad, as a Commission vice-president.

She will eventually run a diplomatic service with a staff of about 6,000, operating from EU embassies. The Commission's offices abroad will become part of the EEAS.

HAVE YOUR SAY

At the climate change talks last year the US, China and India showed up the EU for exactly what it is: a very small player in a very big pond

Alan Baker, UK

Send us your comments

The EEAS is a key part of the structural changes envisaged by the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which is now in force.

European leaders negotiated Lisbon in the first place to "build a stronger, more assertive European foreign policy, at the service of EU citizens," she said.

Lady Ashton said a permanent EU operational headquarters was being considered to manage complex missions such as the EU roles in Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

She also noted calls for the creation of an EU civil protection force to respond better to crises such as the Haiti earthquake. There was widespread criticism of the delays in getting international aid to survivors of the quake.

Lady Ashton said key priorities for the EEAS would be: the ability to plan and conduct military operations; the ability to develop civilian co-ordination in a more structured way; and the ability to establish links with other key organisations, such as Nato and the UN.