EU FOREIGN policy chief Catherine Ashton has asserted her right to take command of the union’s development policy, an area currently controlled by the European Commission, when its new diplomatic corps is set up.
As she prepares to publish her proposals for the new European External Action Service (EAS) amid turf wars in Brussels, Baroness Ashton agreed with the suggestion of a German MEP that she was charged in her post with an “impossible” task.
“It is an impossible job but I’m still here and I’m still doing it.” Addressing the foreign affairs committee of the European Parliament, she said her plan will keep development policy “at the heart” of the EU’s external action “where it belongs”.
This is in apparent defiance of the commission’s view that the EAS as foreseen in the Lisbon Treaty is a vehicle primarily concerned with the EU’s common security and defence.
Although planning work for the new service has been marked by inter-institutional rivalry as the commission, member states and MEPs struggle to maximise their influence over the new body, Baroness Ashton said her proposal on development did not imply any shift in responsibilities.
Development policy programming would have to be set “in a political and economic context” to be effective. “This is why the EAS must have the overview and its desks be responsible for strategic programming. Annual planning, project identification and implementation would remain with the commission services, and our delegations would be involved throughout,” she said.
“I will rely on Andris Piebalgs and Stefan Füle for their advice on development and neighbourhood policy. The EAS will follow their guidance when preparing the strategic programming.”
