2012 rotation of European diplomacy: 17 appointed

(BRUSSELS2) 15 new heads of delegation and two deputies have just been appointed by the High Representative of the EU, Catherine Ashton, to take up posts in the delegations: 8 come from the own Service, 2 from the Commission and 7 from the diplomats of member states. A position that was to be recruited, that of deputy head of the delegation in Turkey, has not been confirmed.

Among the 17 new ambassadors (or deputies) of the European Union, 5 of them come from Central and Eastern European countries. We will note an expected appointment, that of the Pole Tombinski in Ukraine, and the good performance of the Slovenian diplomats, who continue to occupy the ground in the Balkans: it is a Slovenian who has been appointed to Montenegro. We can also notice that only one Frenchman from the Commission reaches the end of the process... 2 Germans and 2 British are appointed.

As is customary, C. Ashton welcomed the appointment: “I was once again impressed by the quality of the candidates for these important positions. The (EEAS) depends on the quality of its people and its ability to attract the brightest diplomats is vital. »

A quarter of European diplomats from national diplomacy

According to a last count, carried out by the EEAS, taking these appointments into account, 57 of the 153 ambassadors and deputy ambassadors in the delegations are occupied by diplomats from the Member States. More than a quarter of the EEAS is thus made up of national diplomats (26.4% exactly, broken down into 37.8% in the delegations and 19.3% at headquarters).

Rebalancing men/women slowly progressing

Of the 15 ambassador appointments, 3 are women. An important point for the High Representative. " Achieving our gender balance goals is important to me. (...) I continue to encourage good candidates to put themselves forward for positions within the EEAS, including at the highest level. But there were not enough female candidates, only 87 candidates out of a total of 717 candidates were women (12%). Among the heads of delegations (heads/deputy heads), 31 posts (out of 153, or 1 out of 5) are now held by women. Which is significantly more important than what existed before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and which is probably slightly more than in certain national diplomacies (follow my gaze :-))

Recruitment in progress

Procedures continue for heads of delegation for Cuba, Djibouti, Iceland, Morocco, Nigeria, Paraguay, the Pacific region (Fiji) and Uruguay. At headquarters, we are still recruiting a Director of Department (Europe/Central Asia) after the departure of Mr. Lajcak, 2 Directors (Multilateral Affairs and Security Policy and Conflict Prevention and 1 Special Envoy for Disarmament and Non-proliferation ).