Press release
EU diplomatic service: Foreign Affairs Committee green light for Madrid deal
External relations - 06-07-2010 - 12:04
Committee : Foreign Affairs
Committee : Foreign Affairs
Two weeks after the Madrid deal on the European External Action Service (EEAS) was struck, recommendations on its organisation and working methods, set out in a text by Elmar Brok (EPP, DE) were approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday. The EU's new diplomatic service is a key innovation of the Lisbon Treaty.
Although Parliament was only formally consulted on the organisation and functioning of the EEAS, MEPs negotiated substantial changes to the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton's original March proposal. The service's Community identity will be strengthened and its political and budgetary accountability to Parliament is guaranteed, according to Parliament's negotiators, Elmar Brok (EPP, DE), Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE, BE) and Roberto Gualtieri (S&D, IT).
The EEAS will help the High Representative (HR) in conducting the EU's foreign policy and ensuring the consistency of its external action. The HR is also Vice-President of the Commission and President of the Foreign Affairs Council.
Substitution
MEPs who were reluctant to see civil servants (such as the executive secretary general) deputise for Lady Ashton when briefing Parliament have won an undertaking that, where necessary, she will be replaced either by the EU commissioners for enlargement, development or humanitarian aid or by the foreign affairs minister of the country holding the EU presidency for Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) issues.
External co-operation
Control over EU external co-operation programmes (development and neighbourhood policies) will remain the responsibility of the Commission, contrary to Ms Ashton's original proposal, which would have given more power to the EEAS.
Proposals for changes in development policy (European Development Fund and Development Co-operation Instrument), will be prepared jointly by the EEAS and the Commission, under the Commissioner's responsibility, and then jointly submitted for a Commission decision.
EEAS: at least 60% EU staff
MEPs have also obtained an undertaking that at least 60% of EEAS staff will be made up of permanent EU officials. This will guarantee the diplomatic service's Community identity. Officials from national diplomatic services - to constitute one third of the staff when the service has reached its full capacity - will be temporary agents for up a duration of up to eight years with a possible extension of two years.
Recruitment will be "based on merit whilst ensuring adequate geographical and gender balance", says Mr Brok's report. Measures to correct possible "imbalances" could be taken during the 2013 review of the service. These measures would analogous to the ones taken when new Member States joined the EU in 2004.
On 1 January 2011, a total of 1,525 civil servants from the Commission and the Council's General Secretariat will be transferred to the EEAS. 100 new posts have been created. Recourse to seconded national experts will be limited these experts and will not be counted as staff from Member States (one third of the total).
Headquarters
The EEAS will have its headquarters in Brussels and will be made up of a central administration and the 136 former Commission delegations.
The central administration will be organised in directorates general comprising geographic desks covering all countries and regions of the world, as well as multilateral desks.
Political and budgetary accountability
The service's political and budgetary accountability to Parliament is guaranteed, with full budget discharge rights over the service.
The operational budget will be the Commission's responsibility. Parliament will receive from the Commission a document clearly accounting for the external action parts of the Commission budget, including the establishment plans of the Union's delegations, as well as the external action expenditure per country and per mission. The EEAS administrative budget will be in a new section X "European External Action service".
Before taking up their posts, EU Special Representatives and Heads of Delegations to countries and organisations which Parliament considers "strategically important" will appear before the Foreign Affairs Committee.
The HR will also seek Parliament's views on key CFSP policy options and MEPs holding institutional roles will have access to confidential documents.
The Foreign Affairs Committee and the Budgets Committee bureaus will have stronger scrutiny rights over CFSP missions financed out of the EU budget.
MEPs also expressed their wish to strengthen ties with national parliaments.
Basic organisation
The statement on basic organisation stipulates that there will a human rights structure at headquarters level and locally in the delegations as well as a department assisting the HR in her relations with Parliament. On crisis management and peace-building, the statement says that CSDP structures will be part of the EEAS.
Next steps
Changes to the Financial Regulation, to the Staff Regulation and to the 2010 budget, on which Parliament has joint decision-making powers with Council, will be put to the vote after the summer recess and after the Council has endorsed Parliament's position on the operation of the service.
One month after the entry into force of the EEAS decision, Ms Ashton is to present to the Commission an estimate of the EEAS revenue and expenditure, with a view to drafting an amending budget.
In the chair: Gabriele ALBERTINI (EPP, IT)
Procedure: consultation
The deadline for tabling amendments to the Brok report is Wednesday 7 July at noon. The report is expected to be voted in plenary on Thursday 8 July in Strasbourg.
REF.: 20100705IPR77750