Brussels, 27/05/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution by the president of the committee on constitutional affairs, the German Social Democrat Jo Leinen, on the future European service for external actions (“European diplomatic service”), in which the MEPs reiterate their determination to play an active part in preparations for the new service, the creation of which is provided for by the European Constitution, but also in its democratic and budgetary controls once it is up and running. The resolution starts by reminding the Commission that the decision on the creation of the European diplomatic service cannot be taken with the EP's blessing, and that the latter wants the “Community model” in the EU's external relations to be preserved and developed further (the Commission is called upon to put “all its institutional weight” behind this request). The EP also repeats its view that the diplomatic service of the EU should be incorporated, in organisational and budgetary terms, into the Commission's staff structure. The fact that the future EU foreign minister, a position which is set to be taken up by Javier Solana, who will head up the external service, will also be a vice-president of the Commission, will guarantee that the service will work in full respect of both “traditional” external policy (common foreign and security policy and European security and defence policy) of the Council and of the competencies carried out by the Commission in the field of external relations, the EP believes.
Against this backdrop, the EP launches an appeal for the Commission to respect the following principles in its future proposals on the creation of the service: the staff of the European service for external actions should be made up, in a well-balanced and reasonable proportion, of officials from the Commission, the Council Secretariat and the national diplomatic services; -the organisation details for the service should “guarantee the Union's harmonised action in its external relations”. In particular, the services tasked with issues coming under the heading of CFSP in the strictest sense and officials in positions of responsibility within the embassies should be assigned to the European diplomatic service; -the directorates general of the Commission must not be stripped of all responsibility in external relations matters. The stage report to be presented to the European Council of 16 and 17 June by José Manuel Barroso and Javier Solana should provide a basis for discussion for the services involved (notably the directorates general Trade, Development and Enlargement, the cooperation office EuropeAid, the humanitarian aid office and the services of DG economic and monetary affairs with an external mandate); -in third countries, the Commission's delegations and the Council's liaison offices should merge into “embassies of the European Union”, managed by European diplomatic service officials and placed under the authority and supervision of the European foreign minister, but belonging administratively to the services of the Commission (which does not rule out the possibility for experts from these delegations to come from other directorates generals of the Commission or the Parliament).
The president of the committee on foreign affairs of the EP, Elmar Brok (CDU), welcomed the EP's massive vote in favour of the creation of the European diplomatic service, which he feels is “concrete added value” provided by the Constitution. “The diplomatic service does not mean that there will be complete harmonisation of the EU foreign policy. On the contrary, it is based on the principle of unity in diversity, which is at the heart of the Constitution”, Mr Brok commented. In order to avoid “mass red tape”, the service should be attached to the Commission, which already has 128 representations outside the EU. “These external Commission representations can easily be changed into genuine EU embassies”, said Mr Brok, indicating a preference for them to be genuine EU representations and not just “trade representations”. Elmar Brok also criticised the German government, which seems to favour of European diplomatic service situated outside the Commission and which would also take over external competencies hitherto managed by the Commission, such as trade and development aid. “The Commission, which must approve the creation of the diplomatic service, will hardly allow itself to be downgraded into a simple common market organisation”.