Luxembourg, 26/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - Foreign ministers, meeting in the General Affairs Council, under the chairmanship of Miguel Angel Moratinos, seemed determined in the early evening of Monday 26 April to reach political agreement on the main points of the new European External Action Service (EEAS). “We might get there today but discussion may take a bit of time yet,” a source close to Catherine Ashton told EUROPE just as we were going to press. The Spanish Presidency, too, was pushing for consensus among member states so that negotiations with the European Parliament, which are not expected to be easy, can be begun without delay. German and French Foreign Ministers Guido Westerwelle and Bernbard Kouchner were also hopeful about reaching an agreement. “There is a desire to agree today on a text which will mean a huge step forward” towards setting up the Service, Kouchner told press in early evening. A number of issues still have to be resolved, however, he acknowledged. Among these are, inter alia, areas of responsibility, the procedure for selecting and recruiting EU heads of delegation in third countries and budgetary matters. Member states seem to agree, however, that the day-to-day running of the Service should not be put in the hands of a powerful secretary general (with two assistants), but that there should be a collegial leadership, comprising three persons of equal ranking. (H.B./transl.rt)