Strasbourg, 13/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 13 June, the European Parliament called for greater coordination and more synergy in terms of foreign policy between the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Commission and the Council - so as to improve the political leadership and visibility of the EEAS, strengthening its instrumental nature.
In the report by Elmar Brok (EPP, Germany) and Roberto Gulatieri (S&D, Italy) on how the EEAS functions - a report which MEPs adopted by a wide majority (501 votes for, 96 against and 13 abstentions) - MEPs want the structure of the EEAS to be simplified and an end to the duplication of services by the Commission and Council Secretariat. This is “so as to allow a decision to be taken and more effective policy responses”, said Brok. “We must say that this service is a service of all the institutions of the EU”, he continued.
In order to ensure greater coherence of policies, the high representative of the EU should preside over the group of commissioners in charge of foreign affairs (development, trade, enlargement and neighbourhood) in order to further develop the practice of common decisions and proposals. Ashton should be assisted by one or several “political” deputies, answerable to the European Parliament, the MEPs believe. The Parliament believes that the EEAS command structure should be simplified and clarified, and that the role of its executive secretary general should be strengthened.
In the Parliament's opinion, more focus should be put on strategic planning and ensuring better coherence between short- and long-term measures. MEPs support an “appropriate structure”, similar to a crisis Council.
In addition, the delegations need staff with the right skills and qualifications to reflect and serve the needs and interests of the EU in its relations with the relevant country or region, the MEPs state. These delegations should be able to offer consular protection to citizens of EU member states which are not represented individually in a given country, the MEPs add, reiterating that any additional duty requires new resources.
The Parliament also wants to be more involved with the participation of freshly appointed CSDP heads of mission and operation in the relevant parliamentary committees before the new appointees take up their work, and the Parliament wants full political reports from the delegations to the mandate holders within the Parliament.
Reviewing not derailing. Presenting his report, Brok said the approach to adopt is a glass that is half full rather than half empty, and he added that no one expects the EEAS to be finished as quickly as summer 2013. Gualtieri said that given that they were talking about a very important instrument to achieve a real European foreign policy, they could go beyond certain boundaries - forging ahead and correcting what does not work. He said that it was about reviewing and not derailing. The rapporteurs, like several MEPs, called on the member states to work with the EEAS more. And although the report points to difficulties, the criticism is not addressed to someone in particular - it is not finger pointing at the high representative, Brok said. He added that there are also “lots of positive things that have been done”. In the view of Annemie Neyts (ALDE, Belgium) the very existence of a service that works relatively well is already positive - a success, not to say a miracle. However, she said that, of course, everything can be perfected.
Many points in common with the high representative. The report is the Parliament's contribution to the 2013 assessment report of the EEAS prepared by Catherine Ashton - a report which is due to be published in July (see EUROPE 10814). Ashton said that the Parliament's report and her proposal have many points in common. The EEAS has not always been as quick and complete as Ashton would have liked, she said. In her opinion, they should assess the means for strengthening the capacity of the EEAS to produce in the three important elements of the EU's foreign policy - the neighbourhood, the global approach and the critical mass. Ashton highlighted cooperation with the Commission, stressing that there is a tendency to underestimate the progress made on seeking viable solutions for the necessary changes, following the decision to make the EEAS an autonomous body. In her view, greater clarity is needed on the responsibility of the high representative - be it at parliamentary debates or abroad. Ashton believed that it is also necessary to consider the internal structure of the EEAS - which has more than 3,000 employees and 141 delegations - and to clarify the hierarchical relationships. She said she wanted to improve the speed and efficiency of operational decision-making in the area of the CFSP and CSDP. (CG/transl.fl)