EEAS: last straight line or last stand of the European Parliament?

(BRUSSELS2) The European Parliament must vote this week on the two draft regulations, financial (1) and staff (2), of the European External Action Service (EEAS). This is the last piece of the legal mechanism that will allow us to move on to another sequence for the EU diplomatic service: the establishment of the structure of the service, starting with the appointment of the management quartet (3), then directors and finally the merger of services between the offices of the Council and the Commission. Another pair of sleeves!

A Last Stand of Parliament

Parliament seems determined to engage in a (last) last stand. It thus froze in the 2011 budget as in the addendum to the 2010 budget, the 118 new posts (4), according to a draft amendment from the Foreign Affairs Committee. For Franziska Brantner (shadow rapporteur for the Greens group), it is a matter of principle: “We haven't even had a debate on what these new recruits are going to do. It is a political question that must be discussed. We shouldn't invent new priorities but put positions in front of our priorities, (...) otherwise there is a gap between what we say and what we do. »

And F. Brantner gives some concrete examples: “ If we want to act on Pakistan and Afghanistan, we must have people who follow this subject. (...) Today, at EU level, to monitor sanctions, which are an important part of foreign policy, there are 1,5 people! Where we should have 10 maybe... It also confirms what we observed in Brussels2 (5): There is not a single position for crisis management and conflict prevention. That's a shame. While Ashton talks about safety and prevention”. In the same way, insists the German MEP, on a subject that is dear to the Greens, " I hope that the 2009 decision on mediation will be implemented, under the authority of a Deputy Secretary General. Few States have this capacity (Finland, Austria, Sweden). But we can develop this expertise. » (6)

However, the Parliament does not seem to want to go to the clash. " This reservation should be lifted as soon as the High Representative herself undertakes to consult Parliament on her personnel priorities with the » specify the parliamentarians. And on the other points, such as the geographical balance or the gender balance, the hearings of the ambassadors, as well as the control of certain PeSDC missions, an agreement could be reached which would unblock the situation.

Have a better balance between men and women

Another subject of concern for the Parliament: the geographical balance and the balance between men and women. " We insist on this point explains the German MEP (cf. compromise amendments 39 and 40 on the Rapjay report). Like several deputies, however, she considers herself " quite skeptical on the idea of ​​quotas, championed by some Eastern MPs like Jacek Saryusz-Wolski. " It's hard to operate ". An idea not included in the report. On the other hand, the European Parliament should ask for a better gender balance, taking into account diplomatic specificities. " Very often there are concrete problems, employment, childcare... explains F. Brantner. " But other states have found solutions, for example Switzerland. Learn from the best practices of others ". A provision which should be integrated in part into the future article 3 of the regulation, and in the form of a declaration by the High Representative.

Possible compromise on the hearing of ambassadors

On the question of the hearing of ambassadors (4), a compromise seems to be taking shape between part of the hearings behind closed doors and another part in public.

There will remain the budget of the PeSDC, which obeys another imperative of the calendar (that of the 2011 budget) some of the missions, the largest, will benefit from a separate budget line (6). " There is a big fight to have a budget line per mission. And the Council wants to keep its policy. But for us it's a matter of democratic control »

In short, the way is to appeasement, because for several deputies it is time that " the diplomatic service starts ».

Read also:

• (1) First fairly consensual debate on the financial regulations of the Diplomatic Service
• (2) Parliament begins debate on the status of diplomatic service personnel
• (3) The first names in the "Top ten" of the diplomatic service
• (4) New bloodshed between Cathy Ashton and the European Parliament
• (5) Europe of defence, poor relation of the diplomatic service budget
• (6) The 2011 budget scrutinized by the European Parliament

Download draft reports:

• Staff Regulations (Rapkay). This report still needs to be adopted by Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee.
• Financial regulations
• Addendum to the 2010 budget