Brussels, 18/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - The current impasse over the 2011 budget (see EUROPE 10257) may create “certain administrative problems” when it comes to launching the new European External Action Service (EEAS) but “on the substance, will not hamper the political work” that may, as planned, start up on 1 December, sources close to Catherine Ashton explained on Thursday 18 November. The 2010 budget provides for €9.5 million for getting the EEAS up and running. As it is unlikely the EEAS will have its own budget from 1 January 2011, the transfer of personnel from the Commission's DG Relex and the Council secretariat to the EEAS will not be done initially but “existing personnel will continue to work as before”, our sources say. There will certainly be a delay in recruiting part of the additional personnel envisaged but the EEAS leadership around Executive Secretary General Pierre Vimont will begin its work as scheduled in December, the same sources say. By the end of the month, Catherine Ashton is expected to designate the managing directors of the different geographic and thematic units of the EEAS. Favourites include Miroslav Lajcak of Slovakia (Balkans and Eastern Europe), Hugues Mingarelli of France (Africa), Christian Leffler of Sweden (Mediterranean and Middle East), Tomas Dupla del Moral of Spain (Asia or America) and Ilkka Salmi of Finland (SitCen).
Legal acts definitively adopted. On 17 November, the Council adopted changes to the officials' status and to the financial regulation needed to allow the EEAS to operate, after the first reading agreement with the EP in October (see EUROPE 10234 and 10240). The two texts are the last legal acts needed to make the service operational by 1 December. (H.B./transl.jl)