Brussels, 19/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - Catherine Ashton need have no further cause for concern: the European Parliament (EP) will approve the two missing pieces of legislation that will enable the European External Action Service to be set up - the financial regulation and staff regulations - on Wednesday 20 October. MEPs, meeting in plenary session in Strasbourg, will pass the 2010 amending budget that is essential if the service start-up is to be financed this year. The legislative process will, then, be concluded on Monday 25 October when the General Affairs Council approves the texts. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Ashton will, thereafter, be able to recruit the staff needed for the European diplomatic corps to be up and running from 1 December 2010, exactly one year after the Lisbon Treaty came into force.
“Achieving what is most important”. On Tuesday, MEPs hailed a final exchange of views with Ashton, her colleagues Maroš Šefèoviè (responsible for the staff regulations) and Janusz Lewandowski (budget) and Council representative Olivier Chastel before the vote takes place on Wednesday. Following long months of often tense negotiations among the three institutions, Tuesday's debate was notable for the broad harmony and deep satisfaction on the part of MEPs that they had “achieved what is most important”. An effective and transparent EEAS. An EEAS sui generis and independent but responsible to Parliament politically and budgetarily. An EEAS, the recruitment criteria for which are “merit and competence” and one which will ensure very quickly that there is a geographical balance (especially between the “old” member states and the “new” states from Eastern Europe) and a gender balance in its staffing. An EEAS which will respect the Community method and will retain policies which fall within the scope of the Community. An EEAS in which all officials, no matter whether they are from the Commission, the Council or member states, will have the same rights and responsibilities. An EEAS which, despite containing a large number of diplomats posted by their member states, will develop a genuine “Community spirit”.
Ashton repeated for MEPs her personal pledge on these points. She hailed the excellent cooperation with the various EP rapporteurs. “You have been tough negotiators but the result is good,” thanks particularly to the “collegial” work, she said. “Thank you for the EP's constructive approach which was a determining factor in negotiations,” Chastel stated, too, speaking on behalf of the Belgian Presidency of the Council.
Satisfaction. “Parliament's central role has been recognised”, particularly in the area of budget control, stated Enzo Rivellini (EPP, Italy), budgets committee rapporteur on the financial regulation. He pointed out that the Commission has regularly to provide the Parliament with an exhaustive list of the diplomatic service's administrative and operations expenditure. Berhard Rapkay (S&D, Germany) legal affairs committee rapporteur on staff regulations, welcomed the “fine collegial cooperation” among the institutions “without which no agreement would have been possible”. The EP will monitor the work of the EEAS “strictly but responsibly” to help Ashton in her “titanic efforts” to strengthen the EU's foreign policy, said Roberto Gualtieri (S&D, Italy). German Green Franziska Brantner was happy with the outcome but wondered about the “real added value” of the new service. “Conflict prevention, crisis management and human rights could be added values” but the EEAS would have to have highest level organisation and capabilities to be able to act in these areas, Brantner said. On this point, she was backed by her fellow countryman Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (ALDE). Willy Mayer (GUE/NGL, Spain) announced that his group would abstain from voting on the legislative package on Wednesday. EP control of the EEAS was still not good enough and organisation of the service was not convincing, he said. Charles Tannock (ECR, UK) said that, while Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives were initially against setting up the EEAS, they were now ready to cooperate “constructively” with the new service. However, “budget neutrality is vital”, he added. On this point Commissioner Lewandowski said that the long-term aim was, indeed, to achieve budget neutrality through savings made to national diplomatic services.
Agreement on staff regulations. While agreement was reached among the three institutions on the financial regulation on 11 October (see EUROPE 10234), the changes to staff regulations were only approved by the EP legal affairs committee in Strasbourg on the evening of Monday 18 October. The compromise text, negotiated between the Commission and the Council and approved by the Parliamentary committee on Monday evening, rules out any idea of quotas or “indicative recruitment targets” working to the benefit of diplomats
from the new member states and says that the EEAS should have an “appropriate and meaningful” number of nationals from all member states and gender equality. Until 30 June 2013, the EEAS will recruit staff exclusively from the Council, the Commission and national diplomatic corps. It should be possible, however, in exceptional cases once recruitment possibilities from these three sources have been exhausted, to take on technical support staff, such as specialists in crisis support, security and information technology.
In addition, in order to ensure that national diplomatic services are well represented within the EEAS, the high representative may, until 30 June 2013, give priority to candidates from national diplomatic services that have an equivalent level of qualification for certain posts. As of 1 July 2013, access to positions within the EEAS should be open to officials of the other European institutions, including the EP.
At least 60% EU staff. Once the EEAS has reached its full capacity, EU officials (Commission, Council) should make up at least 60% of the personnel at administrator level. At least one third of all personnel should come from national diplomatic services. Successful candidates from the national diplomatic services will be employed as temporary agents and thus be put on an equal footing with EU officials. They will have the same rights and obligations and be treated equally, in particular as far as eligibility to assume all positions under equivalent conditions is concerned. The personnel should be recruited on the basis of an objective and transparent procedure and the implementing provisions to be adopted by the EEAS should guarantee “equivalent career prospects” for temporary agents and officials, the compromise text states. The total duration of EEAS employment of staff from the national diplomatic services should not exceed eight years (the current limit for temporary agents being six years). However, in exceptional circumstances and in the interest of the service, at the end of the eighth year, the contract may be extended for a maximum of two years (i.e. a total of 10 years). Each member state must provide its officials who become EEAS temporary agents with a guarantee of immediate reinstatement at the end of their period of service to the EEAS.
Geographical balance. Recruitment or engagement should be according to ability and also on the broadest geographical base possible, the agreement stipulates. EEAS personnel should therefore comprise “an appropriate and meaningful presence of nationals from all the member states”, the text states. In a written statement, the high representative undertakes to use all the possibilities offered in the application of the EEAS appointment procedure to achieve these objectives. The agreement also stipulates that appropriate measures should be taken to promote equal opportunities for the under-represented gender in certain function groups. By mid-2013, the high representative will table a report on the implementation of this regulation, with a particular emphasis on gender and geographical balance of EEAS staff.
Appointment of Heads of Delegation. Heads of delegation in third countries are to be appointed “through selection procedure based on merit and having regard to gender and geographical balance” on the basis of a list of candidates on which the Commission has agreed. The Commission has stated that it will “duly motivate vis-à-vis the high representative any negative opinion it might express concerning a person on the list of candidates”. (H.B./transl.jl)