Brussels, 15/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - Member states' permanent representatives, in a restricted Coreper meeting on 15 October, continued their discussions on the new European External Action Service (EEAS), working from a Swedish Presidency working note which provided a summary of the state of preparations. The EEAS, commonly referred to as the “European diplomatic service” is provided for in the Lisbon Treaty and will assist the high representative (HR) for foreign affairs and the security policy, working in close cooperation with member states' diplomatic services. It will be made up of officials from the Council and Commission and national diplomats seconded from member states. The new treaty also says that the organisation and functioning of the service will be established by a Council decision, acting on a proposal from the HR, after consulting the European Parliament and after obtaining the consent of the Commission. The HR cannot be appointed until the Lisbon Treaty comes into force. The HR's proposal on setting up the EEAS will, therefore, not be put on the Council table before the start of next year at the earliest.
While awaiting the coming into force of the new treaty, the Swedish Presidency wants to make as much progress as possible in technical preparations for the decision that will have to be taken next year. It would like the European Council of 29-30 October to reach political agreement on the key fundamental elements of the service (see below): its scope, legal status, staffing and budget. This would give the incoming HR - who will be appointed either at the same European Council at the end of October or at an extraordinary European summit in November or at the mid-December European Council - a definite framework to help draft the formal proposal on the service. Aware of the importance of this new EU foreign policy instrument, the Swedish Presidency and most member states say that the HR must bring forward the proposal quickly, preferably no later than one month after the Lisbon Treaty comes into force. They would also like the Council decision on setting up the EEAS to be taken under the Spanish Presidency of the EU, in the first half of 2010, therefore. During the six month transition period, the HR would, of course, continue to use Commission and Council staff responsible for external relations. In addition, the HR will be backed by a small preparatory team, comprising representatives from member states, and the Council and Commission secretariats general. Once in place, the service will find its own way of working; assessment of the operation and effectiveness of its internal organisation will be scheduled before the end of the Barroso II Commission, at any rate.
Discussions will continue next week in the Coreper and in the General Affairs Council on 26 October, when foreign ministers will also discuss the EEAS as part of the preparation for the European Council. At this stage in the debate, the situation is as follows:
Legal Status. The EEAS will be a service of a sui generis nature, separate from the Commission and the Council secretariat, and will have autonomy in terms of budget and management of staff. In budgetary terms, the new diplomatic service will be governed by the Financial Regulation, which will mean that the HR will be able to propose a budget which will, thereafter, be approved according to usual EU budgetary procedures.
Scope. The EEAS will be made up of single geographical and thematic desks which will perform the tasks currently carried out by the relevant parts of the Commission and the Council secretariat. Trade, enlargement and development will remain the responsibility of relevant directorates general (DGs) of the Commission and departments of the Council secretariat general. Even though enlargement will remain at the Commission, the European diplomatic service will, nevertheless, have its geographic desks dealing with Turkey, the Western Balkans and Iceland. The EEAS will mainly be at the service of the HR but, in order to ensure a certain consistency in EU external relations, it should also assist the president of the European Council and the president of the Commission in those parts of their office that relate to foreign affairs. It is also recommended that effective consultation procedures be established between the EEAS and Commission staff with responsibility for external affairs (trade, enlargement, development) and those which have a portfolio with significant external dimensions (energy and transport, for example). EU “special representatives” in the various regions of the world will, of course, form part of the diplomatic service. In order to allow the European security and defence policy (ESDP) to be conducted by the HR, the civilian-military planning directorate (CMPD) and the civilian planning and conduct capability (CPCC) will be part of the European diplomatic service. So also will the Situation Centre (SitCen). The EEAS should also have a number of support services, such as a legal cell able to provide specific legal opinions. It should also be able to call upon some Commission and Council departments, for example, for translation. The EEAS should also designate people to be responsible for relations with the European Parliament.
Staffing. The EEAS will be made up of officials from the Commission and the Council Secretariat and diplomats seconded from member states (who will be employed as temporary agents). There will be no quotas as such, but it is intended that recruitment will be on the basis of objective criteria in terms of knowledge and experience, taking account of the necessary geographical and gender balance. Member states stress that diplomats are already members of the team which will oversee the transition between the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty and the adoption of the decisions on the formal creation of the EEAS. At the end of the recruitment process, at least one third of the staff of the EEAS (including in delegations) should be national diplomas. A staff system rotating staff among the wings and delegations will be put in place.
EU Delegations. With the coming into effect of the Lisbon Treaty, European Commission Delegations around the world will become “European Union Delegations” and will come under the responsibility of the HR. These delegations will also contain Commission officials responsible for portfolios that are not part of the EEAS remit. Delegations will, in future, also take on the role exercised hitherto by the rotating EU Presidency on EU coordination and local representation. (H.B./transl.rt)