EU foreign ministers show support for Ashton in Cordoba. AFP reports:
European foreign ministers Saturday gave a show of support for beleaguered EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, hoping to move forward with the building of a new diplomatic service. (…)
“Ashton is a very energetic person, tenacious and strong and we are all going to support her because that’s the way to support our policy,” said Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn at talks in Cordoba, southern Spain.
Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said “Ashton got 100 percent support” from the 27 EU foreign ministers who started meeting Friday. (…)
While displaying support for Ashton, ministers also stressed that jobs must be distributed fairly among European capitals.
Ashton told them that the jobs would be awarded on merit. “There needs to be some gender balance, geographical balance, political balance but at the same time people will be appointed on merit,” as Ashton spokesman said. “We are not just going to appoint someone because of where they are from.” (…)
Swedish and British foreign ministers Carl Bildt and David Miliband insisted in a leaked letter this week that “recruitment of staff should be transparent and based on merit”, with battles for key global posts due to intensify.
Smaller nations Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia have also written, insisting on being well represented in the new diplomatic service.
Bildt stressed Saturday that it was necessary to ensure that the nascent EAS “fully reflects the member states because if we don’t tie the member states into the structure, it’s simply not going to work.”
The controversy over the appointment of Barroso-ally Joao Vale de Almeida as the EU’s new envoy to Washington has boosted fears that the European Commission is calling too many shots in the appointments. “There is huge frustration among the member states that the whole issue would be steered by the Commission,” Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said.
Reuters has more quotes:
Swedish Foreign Minister Cald Bildt told Reuters there had been agreement on the need to support Ashton, who holds posts both in the Commission and in the Council of EU states. “The feeling among the foreign ministers is that she’s our representative, we want to defend her … we see others encroaching on her so we are defending and supporting her.”
Finland’s Alexander Stubb said the aim of the diplomatic service — to give the bloc a stronger global voice — was at risk unless Ashton was given full backing. “There are some member states, especially on the civil servant level who are trying to pull the rug from underneath Cathy Ashton … they should look at themselves in the mirror. “We can either establish a true European foreign policy, a true diplomatic service, and give our 100-percent support to Cathy Ashton, or we can just fall into European foreign policy oblivion,” he said. Stubb also said there was strong support in Cordoba for Ashton’s work. “I would say it’s unanimous,” he said.
Spain’s Miguel Angel Moratinos said there had been a unanimous acknowledgment of Ashton’s “tireless efforts.” “There was a lot of debate but I am sure her proposal on the (EAS) will be extremely well balanced and all institutions will be satisfied,” he said. (…)
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, whose country has been most vocal in its criticism of Ashton’s first decisions as EU foreign policy chief, said little, despite talks with Ashton earlier in the day. “There is a lot of work to do. We will discuss it now,” he said.
Ashton must stand firm. In the Guardian, Will Hutton calls on Ashton to fight back attempts to undermine her authority:
EU heads of state chose her, knowing her lack of foreign policy experience. They aimed to manipulate an innocent. Ashton knows that the same José Manuel Barroso, who is urging all EU institutions to co-operate “in a spirit of loyalty”, is simultaneously engaged in a power grab to keep control of the aid and development funds, so neutering her new service. And while the French and Germans proclaim their fealty to the notion of a European common foreign and security policy, they jealously protect their sovereignty and national influence. Already Ashton has given ground, saying that big member states will have a role – unspecified – in choosing EU ambassadors. The word is she is giving ground to Barroso over her budget. She will argue that, in terms of European realpolitik, she is only recognising reality. Maybe. But it is a reality that should be challenged more firmly than she is doing.
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