Vienna/Brussels, 10/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 9 January in Vienna, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, said he was “delighted” to announce that he agreed with Chancellor Schüssel that the former French foreign minsters and former European Commissioner Michel Barnier, should be entrusted with drafting a report on ways of further developing the EU's civilian crisis management capacity in third countries, including consular assistance (this is something that is part of our “European model”, Wolfgang Schüssel said in a joint press conference with Mr Barroso: see EUROPE 9105). “This is an important result of today's joint meeting” between the Commission and the Austrian Presidency, Mr Barroso comments in a press release. He goes on to add: “The EU is greatly solicited for civilian crisis management - we already have a lot to offer but there is huge potential to build on existing policies in an area with direct resonance with Europe's citizens. Everyone stands to gain from intensified EU cooperation in this field. (…) Michel Barnier's background eminently qualifies him, through his European and national experience, to come up with creative ways of improving the EU's capacity to deal with civilian crisis management”. (We recall that, as European Commissioner, Michel Barnier had headed the working group on security and defence within the Convention that drafted the European Constitution). Mr Barnier will present his report before the end of the Austrian term of office as EU Presidency and will, during that period, “act as special adviser to the Commission”, the press release states.
Is this initiative already part of a possible “cherry picking” exercise aimed at seeking to implement certain aspects of the constitutional Treaty without delay, mainly when it comes to foreign and security policy? No, it is simply a matter of making concrete improvements, and this decision has nothing to do with the discussion on the fate of the European Constitution, the European Commission's spokesman, Johannes Laitenberger, said on 10 January in answer to questions put to him by the press.