Brussels, 04/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament will not be swayed: the new European Diplomatic Corps (EEAS) must be “attached to the Commission in administrative, organisational and budgetary terms”. This demand, which is opposed by the member states, is top of the list of amendments which the Parliament's joint rapporteurs Elmar Brok (EPP) and Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE) put to the foreign affairs and constitutional affairs committee on Tuesday 4 May. The amendments, broadly supported by all the main political groups (EPP, S&D, ALDE and the Greens), form the EP's negotiating position in pursuit of the changes it wants to the “unacceptable” political agreement reached in the Council on 26 April (the full text is published in our “EUROPE Documents” N° 2533).
Addressing the AFCO committee on Tuesday, Verhofstadt was blunt in his warning to member states: if they refuse to attach the EEAS to the Commission, “it cannot be ruled out” that Parliament will demand that all external policies currently administered by the Commission (development cooperation, neighbourhood policy, humanitarian aid, etc) remain with the Commission and not be transferred to the diplomatic corps. “If the Council thinks that it's difficult for it to accept our proposal, then it could be that we ask for everything that is Commission business today to remain with the Commission,” Verhofstadt warned. That was not, however, what Parliament wanted, added this former Belgian prime minister, stating that the EP wanted a full and effective diplomatic service.
The other main amendments jointly proposed by Brok and Verhofstadt to the draft Council decision on the organisation and operation of the EEAS are the following:
- in Article 1, the EP wants to state not only that the EEAS should belong to the Commission, but also that the high representative and the Service are “fully accountable to the European Parliament in political and budgetary terms”. The 2006 inter-institutional agreement between the EP, the Council; and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management will, therefore, have to be revised.
In Article 2, the EP wants to add that the EEAS will assist the high representative/Commission vice-president (HR/VP) conduct the common foreign and security policy (CFSP) and also the common security and defence policy (CSDP). MEPs also want to clarify the issue of the HR's political representation. They want it specified that the three European commissioners (development, humanitarian aid and neighbourhood policy) may represent the HR/VP under the terms of Article 17 of the Treaty on the EU. When carrying out duties related to foreign affairs and security, the HR may be represented by “deputies” appointed according to the procedure set out in Article 33 of the Treaty, the EP says. Parliament proposes, too, that a “political coordination mechanism” be put in place to ensure coherence in the EU's foreign affairs. This mechanism would allow regular consultation between the HR, her deputies and the three commissioners (and perhaps other commissioners, if necessary).
- in Article 4 (day-to-day running of the Service), the EP proposes replacing the post of “secretary general” with one of “director general” (more appropriate terminology since the EEAS is not a new institution, Verhofstad said). This director general, who would not represent the HR/VP in foreign business, would not have any deputies. With regard to the different Directorates General (DGs) proposed by the Council, the EP is calling for a specific DG for human rights, and also for a department to be set up to coordinate the ramifications outside the EU of the various internal policies, such as transport, for example. To ensure proper coordination between the various DGs of the diplomatic corps and in the event of operational missions having to be launched, MEPs want a “crisis prevention and management committee”, made up of representatives of the various geographic and thematic units of the EEAS. This committee would be under the direct authority of the HR/VP.
- on the budget (Article 7), the EP rejects the Council proposal that the EEAS be dealt with as an “institution” in the financial regulation and that a “specific section in the EU budget” be provided for it. Instead, Parliament wants the Service to be part of section III of the budget to ensure that its rights on monitoring and discharge are fully respected.
- with regard to EU delegations throughout the world (Article 5), the Council decided, in its political agreement, that the Commission should be able to instruct delegations on matters that fall within its responsibilities. The EP wants it stated that these instructions would have to go via the HR/VP and that, were there to be disagreement between the HR/VP and the Commission on the content of the orders, it would be for the “College of Commissioners to take the final decision”.
MEPs also want decisions on opening or closing a delegation to be taken by the HR in agreement with the Council and the Commission (and not simply following consultation). All EU delegations must also have diplomats (“focal points”) to monitor the human rights situation and democracy in the countries concerned, the EP says.
- on staff (Article 6), the EP wants to stipulate that, once the EEAS has reached full capacity, “at least half” of the diplomats at AD level will have to come from the Commission. The rule contained in the Council political agreement that one third must come from the member states has not been challenged by the EP. However, it calls for temporary agents who have come from member states' diplomatic services who have ended their period of service in the EEAS to be able to request that they may continue in the Service.
- the EP is calling, too, for specific arrangements in order to have “continuous access to confidential documents drawn up by the EEAS”.
On Tuesday, two Polish MEPs Jacek Saryusz-Wolski and Rafa³ Trzaskowski (both EPP) stressed that there had to be geographic balance among the diplomats working for the new Service. They claim that 16 member states are currently under-represented in the External Relations DG (RELEX) at the European Commission and, so, run the risk of being under-represented in the EEAS. National indicative recruitment targets should be set for each member state, they argue. (H.B./transl.rt)