By Martin Banks - 23rd March 2010
There are some crucial points that first need to be solved
Elmar Brok
Parliament has put itself on a direct collision course with EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton over the make-up of the new EU diplomatic corps.
Under plans unveiled on Monday by Ashton, the European external action service (EEAS) will have a secretary general and two deputy secretary generals.
The idea is that they will stand in for Ashton when she is unable to attend meetings in parliament and other EU institutions as well as trips abroad to attend international conferences.
But an informal parliamentary policy document on the EEAS takes issue with this proposal, saying it should be political representatives, not civil servants, who deputise for the high representative.
The document, published on Tuesday, sets parliament on a collision course with Ashton on the shape and structure of the new service.
It says, "If parliament is to be able to support the establishment of the EEAS and provide it with political legitimacy, it is critical that a number of essential points are addressed."
It says these "primarily" concern budgetary prerogatives and political accountability, including the hiring of top EEAS staff prior to taking up their posts.
Ashton had wanted to have informal approval for her preferred structure by next month but, given parliament's likely opposition to the one she outlined this week, this is now thought highly unlikely.
Parliamentary approval must be sought before the EEAS becomes operational and, addressing a news conference in parliament, German centre-right deputy Elmar Brok said he fears the impasse could delay its implementation.
"We want a quality service. That is more important than the speed with which it is set up. There are some crucial points that first need to be solved," he said.
"The idea that unelected civil servants can stand in for Ashton will be totally unacceptable to this parliament.
"What we do not want is a system with a secretary general sitting in the middle of a spider's web controlling everything. This has got to be avoided.
"Member states have got to understand that the EEAS does not belong to them but to the whole of the EU.
"This is a key question and we must agree on the substance of the EEAS before any appointments to positions are made."
His comments were endorsed by ALDE leader Guy Verhofstadt who said, "Her deputies must be politically accountable before parliament and elsewhere, not civil servants representing a bureaucracy.
"A secretary general or director general is a civil servant who simply carries out the orders of the high representative herself or the commission or member states.
"What is wanted and what was originally foreseen is a high rep with political deputies.
"The idea that Ashton could send a civil servant to parliament to justify a political decision taken by member states is unacceptable."
He added, "We want both an autonomous and ambitious EEAS but it is absolutely necessary that Ashton is helped by a number of commissioners."
The former Belgian prime minister also said that for appointments to EEAS posts, parliament favours the creation of a selection panel consisting of representatives of the commission and council.
The document drafted by MEPs, including Brok and Verhofstadt, also insists that gender and geographical balance must be "built in" to appointments.
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