Ashton not there in Mallorca: regret, indifference, bitterness…
(BRUXELLES2 / In Palma de Mallorca) Faced with the absence of Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the EU, some ministers are acting indifferent. " We will have further opportunities to speak with the High Representative explains Christian Schmidt, the German Parliamentary State Secretary for Defence. " And we will be able to discuss with the Secretary General of NATO “, which is there, he adds without any irony.
Others don't go with the back of the spoon, like the Dutch Secretary of State, Jack De Vries, who sends a little word on Tweeter, between two meetings, saying aloud what everyone is thinking quietly: " We hebben nu dan wel een EU-president en High Vertegenwoordiger, maar die, mw. Ashton, schittert door afwezigheid. Solana was er altijd » (we now have a President of the EU and a High Representative. But Mrs. Ashton was conspicuous by her absence. Solana (him) was still there). The tone is set !
Spaniards regret. The Spanish presidency was bitter and could not help but let it be known. Carme Chacon has thus, in front of his counterparts, " regretted the absence of the High Representative at the time of the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty”. And on the informal presentation document, the presidency took great care to add that the "Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, is expected at the working session ". The Spanish presidency has tried everything, even providing a plane from Madrid to Palma de Mallorca. Although the director general of the ministry, Luis Cuesta, tries to dispel the dispute — “ We have prepared this meeting in close coordination with Baroness Ashton. And we understand the reasons why she's not here " -... the damage is done ! This absence of the High Representative, or rather the refusal to be present, sounds like a slap in the face for the Iberians.
European orphans. In the ranks of European officials, the faces are slightly tense, even if they do not seem to be. We feel a little bit of abandonment, like a feeling of orphans. For the EU - and for the European Commission - which has always forbidden to be present at the table of ministers - it also looks like a severe slap in the face. As summarized, in meeting, the minister Bulgarian Defence, Anyu Angelov: it's " pity "! To the point that the British minister, Baroness Ann Taylor of Bolton, felt compelled to
stepping up, in turn, hoping (supreme perfidy) that the High Representative will be able to give her report on the foreign service to the council (foreign affairs / defense jumbo) at the end of April (in Luxembourg).
A totally incomprehensible attitude. To try to understand this absence, several explanations can be put forward. I pass on the agenda: to attend the enthronement of a Ukrainian leader, who is not the most perfect of democrats, who will moreover be received at the European Commission on Monday is anything but a good excuse. Especially since the neighborhood policy does not fall into the purse of the High Representative, stricto sensu. Other reasons can be put forward, more personal or more political:
1) desire for revenge on the Spanish presidency,
2) concern to mark its territory and its independence in relation to the Member States,
3) lack of political vision,
4) personal prism considering that diplomacy is more important than defense policy,
5) British prism believing that NATO is sufficient for European defense policy and that there is no need for a common EU defense policy, etc. None of them are frankly satisfactory. I must admit.
It is a proven fact: by not coming, politically, diplomatically, professionally, the High Representative scored an own goal, against better coordination of European policies, which is precisely the theme this Thursday!
(photo credit: Spanish EU Presidency)
