Dehaene backs single foreign affairs chief and EU embassies

Date: 12/12/02

By Dana Spinant

ONE person should represent the European Union in its relations with countries outside the Union, according to plans put forward by Jean-Luc Dehaene, vice-chairman of the Convention on the future of the EU.

The foreign policy chief, who would combine the functions of the High Representative (currently Javier Solana) and the commissioner for external affairs (Chris Patten), should have the back-up of a network of EU embassies staffed by a European diplomatic corps, says Belgium's former premier.

The external action working group recommends that the foreign affairs supremo be appointed by the European Council, with the approval of the European Commission's president and endorsement of the Parliament. He or she would have a mandate from, and be accountable to, the EU's heads of state and government leaders.

The new "Mr CFSP" would also chair the external affairs council. He could be called the European External Representative, but names such as EU minister of foreign affairs and EU foreign secretary have also been suggested.

However, the group is split over whether he would be a member of the Commission or installed at the Council of Ministers. The quarrel over his seat mirrors a fight between those supporting more powers for the Union and the Commission over foreign affairs, and those who insist member states should control this sensitive area.

A majority of the group believe he should be a member of the Commission and possibly its vice-president. But Peter Hain, the British government representative on the Convention, strongly opposes this idea.

Addressing the forum's 6 December plenary session, he said he was against "communitarisation" of the CFSP. Dominique de Villepin, the French foreign minister, said his country wanted a "European foreign affairs minister" but in the framework of the Council, not the Commission.

However, it is widely acknowledged that both France and the UK will accept a "double-hatted" foreign policy chief, if he is totally accountable to member states' foreign ministers.

The report from Dehaene's group, due to be presented to the Convention's plenary on 20 December, also recommends the establishment of a joint European external relations service. The equivalent of a foreign affairs ministry, this would gather the Commission's directorate-general for external relations (DG RELEX), Council secretariat officials and member states' diplomats.

This move is necessary for boosting trust between present services, Commissioner Michel Barnier, a supporter of the plan, told European Voice. "By creating a double-hatted foreign secretary and pooling together the present resources in one administration, we introduce confidence in the system," he said.

A senior Commission official backs this view. "Solana and Patten get along very well together, but the two administrations are constantly slapping at each other. It does not work. We need one person, and one bureaucracy, to take care of the external relations."

Dehaene will also propose that Commission delegations abroad became EU embassies, staffed by officials of the Commission, Council and member states.

The embassies, under the authority of the foreign policy chief, would not only promote EU foreign policy, but also provide consular services for citizens of member states without their own consulate in the countries concerned.

An EU Diplomatic Academy and diplomatic service will be set up to train future diplomats. Such a plan is set to be accepted by member states, provided the EU embassies would complement and not replace theirs.

According to figures presented by the Parliament's representatives on the Convention, the USA has a network of 300 missions worldwide, with 15,000 people, while the EU would have some 1,500 missions employing 40,000.

"There is no doubt that many steps can be taken to try to come closer to what could be called a common European diplomacy," a report by Spanish MEP Iñigo Méndez de Vigo, a member of the Convention praesidium, points out.

One person should represent the European Union in its relations with countries outside the Union, according to plans put forward by Jean-Luc Dehaene, vice-chairman of the Convention on the future of the EU.