Union stars in the world hot spots

Date: 20/02/1997

ALL world powers have them, and now the European Union has got in on the act. They are the 'special envoys' who carry the Union's banner into conflict zones and gain visibility for themselves and their masters in hot spots around the world.

Carl Bildt in Bosnia, Miguel Moratinos in the Middle East, Aldo Ajello in central Africa and Kester Heaslip in Cyprus - all are making inroads into regional politics and introducing the EU to new ways of doing business.

Bildt does not answer only to the Union, as he represents the powers on both sides of the Atlantic which sponsored Bosnia's peace accord. But like the other EU envoys, he reports regularly to Union foreign ministers.

Meanwhile, Heaslip represents the Union presidency rather than the Union as a whole (many EU governments have their own 'man in Nicosia'), but he may be called to address the 15.

But although their roles vary slightly, the envoys have become the Union's eyes and ears on the ground and welcome symbols of European unity in tricky policy areas.

The current envoys, although perhaps not yet household names, are no lightweights.

Ajello is a former under secretary-general of the United Nations, a former UN envoy to Mozambique and a member of the North Atlantic Assembly - the parliamentary group of NATO nations. Moratinos speaks Russian and Serbo-Croatian and has been a key architect of the Union's policy in the Mediterranean.

More than that, these hard-working foreign policy toilers are seen by some as the model for that mysterious figure the EU 15 keep talking about - an identifiable Common Foreign and Security Policy supremo.

But all the current envoys are acutely aware that they must avoid the temptation to 'go solo'. “We cannot take decisions in place of the EU, but we can help it reach decisions more rapidly,” says Christophe Farnaud, who works for Moratinos.

Some question whether they carry enough weight in the crisis zones, given these limitations. But the envoys themselves feel they do.

Ajello says the central and east African governments he works with give him their full respect. “I am treated as a representative of the 15 nations. Bilateral diplomacy is still there. I am not replacing the ambassadors of the 15, but I go to the meetings,” he explains.

Ajello believes he gets more recognition in Rwanda than his UN and US counterparts because the EU is known as a generous economic power. “They know that behind me there is a lot of money in addition to political weight,” he says.

Moratinos, meanwhile, has proved to Middle Eastern leaders that he can deliver.

When Israel and the Palestinian Authority were struggling over the final details of an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank town of Hebron, Moratinos played a crucial role.

“Moratinos was Arafat's direct interlocutor,” recounts Farnaud. Arafat said he wanted a letter of assurance from the Union that it would support the agreement afterwards.

“Moratinos told Arafat he had to refer to the presidency, and then he called [Dutch Foreign Minister Hans] van Mierlo. Arafat had the letter only two or three days later.”

Although EU diplomats acknowledge it was American diplomacy - not European - which brought about the Hebron agreement, US officials say that letter was very important. “It helped bring the talks to a conclusion,” says one.

When Union foreign ministers named Moratinos as their permanent envoy to the Middle East last October, US officials were visibly displeased. Their fears of competition for US envoy Dennis Ross appeared justified when French diplomats said Moratinos' role should be “as large as that of Dennis Ross and certainly no less”.

But it was in fact French actions in the region - and not a desire to compete with the Americans - which drove other EU governments to name a common envoy. Many of France's partners hoped this would curb its habit of conducting its own foreign policy in the Middle East.

“The risk of a single country going it alone would be that much greater if there were not a special envoy,” said Danish Foreign Minister Neils Helveg-Petersen when he argued in favour of the appointment.

Washington has changed its mind since Ajello and Moratinos took on their jobs. “We hate to admit that kind of thing, but it has worked out,” says a US official who praises both envoys for their helpful and useful contributions.

“They really are men of stature, not just civil servants who pass on messages,” he adds.

Their presence means better coordination between EU and US governments. “There has never been a single person you could call to discuss these complicated things,” explains the US official. “These envoys are the people we can call.”

They also work well with their American counterparts. Ajello frequently meets late into the night with the US envoy to the Great Lakes, and with the representatives of the UN, the OAU and South Africa. “They call each other up, and work it out among themselves,” says one official. Moratinos too meets his US counterpart in the Middle East and in Washington frequently.

The US administration also regards the new Union envoys as useful conduits into the EU Council of Ministers.

“They go right up to the Council. Should we ever need to get an idea into the Union quickly we can do it through the envoys. It is much quicker than traditional methods,” says one diplomat.

Yet while the envoys are received in the rest of the world as the voice of Europe, they get mostly good but varying receptions in Brussels. It all depends on the interest in their area.

Central Africa, for instance, is not a key issue in most EU capitals. Ajello, who writes reports for member states every time he travels to the region and produces a more comprehensive political analysis for the EU presidency every three months, is frequently welcomed by development ministers but has only been called once in a year to appear before foreign ministers. He says he would like to have the chance to see them more often, but realises “this is not top priority”.

Bildt, on the other hand, is received with much fanfare in Brussels whenever he wants - and is listened to by Union policy-makers.

Heaslip declares himself happy with his access to the EU presidency and ministers. “I keep close contact with the other representatives and, from time to time, I report to the Council,” he says. “From my point of view, this is satisfactory and is working.”

Heaslip's occasional presence in Cyprus has helped boost the Union's reputation on the divided island. “We asked the EU to designate someone to follow events closely here,” says a Cypriot diplomat. “We got an envoy of the presidency. We would have preferred an envoy of the Council, but the fact that the Dutch presidency retained Heaslip [an Irish presidency nominee] is a very positive sign.”

Meanwhile, Moratinos attends monthly Political Committee (PoCo) meetings and has addressed foreign ministers. He circulates information about his travels and meetings through the diplomatic cable system, CorEur.

“The assessment in the member states is that what Moratinos is doing is very positive,” says a European diplomat who sits on the Council's peace process working group. “His views on policy carry quite a bit of weight. It is the Council that makes the policy and he delivers it, so Moratinos is not a free agent, but he has so far been a valuable tool in the Union's policy towards the region. By virtue of his activities, he is helping to strengthen the EU's standing with the parties.”

That alone is reason enough to keep him there. The Union has long sought a bigger role in the peace process, straining to end its second-class status behind the US as a peacemaker.

Moratinos' presence in the Middle East has not prevented EU member states from continuing to practise their own diplomacy in the region.

But that does not bother Moratinos and his staff. “Everybody understands that Moratinos' actions are added to those of the others,” says Farnaud. “There is no monopoly.”