During the EU Ambassadors’ Conference held in Brussels on Thursday, 6 February, European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela confirmed that a reorganisation of the European diplomatic delegation network was being considered. Agence Europe had provided details outlining this project last January (see EUROPE 13558/4).
“[W]e are thinking of possibl[y] reorganis[ing] the delegation network, which I believe is one of the necessary prerequisites for strategically building mutually beneficial partnerships. It will allow us to deliver on the duty to scale up the ‘Global Gateway Strategy’ and address the challenges we face, and it is also in line with the simplification agenda of [...] President [of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen]”, declared the commissioner.
The main objective would aim to create regional centres specialising in investment management, contracts and finance, and strategic communication “while maintaining a core of ‘INTPA’ staff in each delegation”, explained Mr Síkela, referring to those working for the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships.
Nevertheless, the European commissioner stressed that “no decisions” had been taken yet – also indicating that any proposals would be subject to “the proper staff consultations and that any potential changes [would] be gradual”.
“You can reassure staff that they will be fully involved before decisions are made on which hubs will be created, where they will be based, and what we expect from them”, he assured ambassadors from more than 145 EU delegations and offices around the world.
On Monday, High Representative of the Union Kaja Kallas had promised to strengthen the EU delegation network’s reach around the world (see EUROPE 13571/4). (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)