By Martin Banks - 10th January 2012
It strikes me as a pretty pointless job
Ukraine diplomat
A senior Ukraine diplomat has launched a blistering attack on EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton.
The official also said her "lack of impact" reflected the "futility" of creating such a post.
He said, "This post should be occupied by a real politician."
Ashton has repeatedly come under fire over the past year.
The British peer, who has never been elected to public office, has been criticised for failing to attend important meetings and for her lack of political or diplomatic successes, including deep EU splits over military action in Libya.
The External Action Service (EAS), which she heads, has also been criticised by MEPs and others.
The diplomat, who did not wish to be named, said the high representative post created under the Lisbon treaty did not have any "significant" powers.
"Under its current set-up, it strikes me as a pretty pointless job," he said.
Speaking of Ashton, he said, "The problem with Baroness Ashton is that she is not a prominent politician and there have been no big deliverables under her tenure. She just has not been visible.
"This is a fundamental challenge for the EU which the EU is going to have to face."
He said the job should have gone to a "real politician", saying David Miliband, the former British foreign minister, would have made an "ideal candidate".
"When you think of the number of other possible contenders her appointment was very strange," he added.
However, British Socialist MEP Richard Howitt, a staunch supporter of Ashton, came to her defence, saying, "This is a five-year job and she is only half way through it.
"She has built the foundations and the structure and the second half is about delivering the service."
He added, "The high representative can only do what EU foreign ministers allow he or she to do. Perhaps some of these people should look at their own navels."
Howitt also defended the EAS, saying, "At a time when EU foreign policy has been elevated in importance it is not surprising there is increased tension but it would be wrong to interpret this as criticism of the service."
Meanwhile, the EAS has been accused of "marginalising" anti-poverty objectives in a report by Concord, the European confederation of relief and development NGOs.
The report comes amid a storm of criticism from 12 member states last week on the EAS' first year performance.
Klavdija Cernilogar, Concord head of policy, said, "EU foreign policy is turning a blind eye to poverty eradication as the new EAS fails to integrate development policy in the new service. In regions such as the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, anti-terrorism and security operations have been prioritised with little consideration to long-term development efforts."
It adds, "Catherine Ashton and her colleagues need to realise that while poverty remains, conflict and instability will always find fertile ground. We're also concerned that development policy risks being instrumentalised for self-interest policies.
"One year on, there is still no clarity on how the European commission and the EAS will coordinate €11bn in development programming. Our report shows that competition rather than co-operation prevails between the two institutions."
