Recruit new EU ambassadors: “not easy”

(BRUXELLES2) More than 1000 candidates for some thirty open positions under the 2010 rotation of heads of European Union delegations (promised "ambassadors" under the new diplomatic service) (1), the issue is not is not thin. How to choose ? It is all the more difficult as it is necessary to respect a geographical balance within the European Union, a balance of recruitment between the three sources of the diplomatic service (European Commission, Council of the EU, Member States) and. .. have good profiles, or even, quite simply,... candidates. And therein lies the hiatus!

Destinations that attract more than others

Because as summed up, lapidarily, a witness of these recruitments, we jostle for positions that respect the triptych "good food", "good weather" and "good connections". Much less on others. In other words, the position in Argentina or South Africa attracts much more than that in Uganda, Chad or Iraq. In black Africa as well (which represents a good half of the open positions, read here), we most often find candidates "internal" to the European Commission, and very few those from member countries (with a few exceptions).

The double talk of the new Member States

The countries of central and eastern Europe, in particular, which complain loudly about their low representation in the service, suffer from a lack of candidates. They present few candidates, all of whom are headed in the same direction (Georgia, for example, or the Balkans). However, it is neither conceivable nor desirable to have in one region of the world only ambassadors from certain countries. On the other hand, there are very few Africanists in the former communist countries (or they are retired) and very few candidates attracted by these destinations. In other words, it is difficult to name many nationals of the new Member States (apart from those who are already present in the European institutions).

Where are the women

Another trend: the structural weakness of female candidates. Whatever their administration, it is a constant that we observe in this first recruitment. There are very few women.

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)