EU High Representative’s tasks & EEAS

The European Council has selected Catherine Ashton, and she has accepted a huge challenge as the first ”double-hatted” EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice-president of the EU Commission.



Here is how the Council’s background paper explains the duties of EU’s chief diplomat and the European External Action Service (EEAS):



The High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy /
The European External Action Service

November 2009


EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

At the informal meeting in Brussels on 19 November, ahead of the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December, EU Heads of State or Government agreed on the appointment of Ms Catherine ASHTON as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.


What are her duties?

The High Representative exercises, in foreign affairs, the functions which, so far, were exercised by the six-monthly rotating Presidency, the High Representative for CFSP and the Commissioner for External Relations. According to Articles 18 and 27 of the Treaty on the European Union, the High Representative:

• conducts the Union's common foreign and security policy;

• contributes by her proposals to the development of that policy, which she will carry out as mandated by the Council, and ensures implementation of the decisions adopted in this field;

• presides over the Foreign Affairs Council;

• is one of the Vice-Presidents of the Commission. She ensures the consistency of the Union's external action. She is responsible within the Commission for responsibilities incumbent on it in external relations and for coordinating other aspects of the Union's external action.

• represents the Union for matters relating to the common foreign and security policy, conduct political dialogue with third parties on the Union's behalf and expresses the Union's position in international organisations and at international conferences.

• exercises authority over the European External Action Service and over the Union delegations in third countries and at international organisations.


How will she be appointed?

The European Council, acting by a qualified majority, with the agreement of the President of the Commission, appoints the High Representative.

She is subject, together with the President of the Commission and the other members of the Commission, to a vote of consent by the European Parliament.


Supporting arrangements

In fulfilling her mandate, the High Representative is assisted by a European External Action Service (see below). She benefits from support from the Council and Commission services as appropriate.


Before the Treaty of Lisbon

The previous office of High Representative for the common foreign and security policy was introduced in 1999 (Amsterdam Treaty). Javier Solana has been the EU High Representative for CFSP since then. He assists the Council in foreign policy matters, through contributing to the formulation, preparation and implementation of policy decisions. He acts on behalf of the Council in conducting political dialogue with third parties. The six-monthly rotating Presidency has been in charge of chairing the External Relations Council, representing the Union in CFSP matters, implementing the decisions taken and for expressing the EU position internationally.


European External Action Service

Article 27(3) TEU constitutes the legal basis for the Council decision on the organisation and functioning of the EEAS.

“In fulfilling his mandate, the High Representative shall be assisted by a European External Action Service. This service shall work in cooperation with the diplomatic services of the Member States and shall comprise officials from relevant departments of the General Secretariat of the Council and of the Commission as well as staff seconded from national diplomatic services of the member states. The organisation and functioning of the European External Action Service shall be established by a decision of the Council. The Council shall act on a proposal from the High Representative after consulting the European Parliament and after obtaining the consent of the Commission.”

On 30 October 2009, the European Council agreed on guidelines for the European External Action Service (EEAS) (doc. 14930/09). The future HR was invited to present a proposal for the organisation and functioning of the EEAS as soon as possible after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, with a view to its adoption by the Council at the latest by the end of April 2010.


What is the EEAS?

According to the guidelines adopted by the European Council in October 2009, the EEAS will be a single service under the authority of the High Representative. The EEAS will have an organisational status reflecting and supporting the High Representative's unique role and functions in the EU system.


What will it do?

The EEAS will help the High Representative ensure the consistency and coordination of the Union's external action as well as prepare policy proposals and implement them after their approval by Council. It will also assist the President of the European Council and the President as well as the Members of the Commission in their respective functions in the area of external relations and will ensure close cooperation with the Member States. The EEAS should be composed of single geographical (covering all regions and countries) and thematic desks, which will continue to perform under the authority of the High Representative the tasks currently executed by the relevant parts of the Commission and the Council Secretariat. Trade and development policy as defined by the Treaty should remain the responsibility of relevant Commissioners of the Commission.


How will it be staffed?

EEAS staff will be appointed by the High Representative and drawn from three sources: relevant departments of the General Secretariat of the Council, of the Commission and of national diplomatic services of the Member States. Recruitment will be based on merit, with the objective of securing the services of staff of the highest standard of ability, efficiency and integrity, while ensuring adequate geographical balance.


Crisis management structures

In order to enable the High Representative to conduct the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), the EU's crisis management structures should be part of the EEAS while taking full account of their specificities. These structures will form an entity placed under the direct authority and responsibility of the High Representative.


What will be its legal status?

The EEAS should be a service of a sui generis nature, separate from the Commission and the Council Secretariat. It should have autonomy in terms of administrative budget and management of staff. The EEAS will have its own section in the EU budget, to which the usual budgetary and control rules will apply. The High Representative will propose and implement the EEAS budget.


How will it be financed?

The establishment of the EEAS will be guided by the principle of cost efficiency and aimed towards budget neutrality. A limited number of additional posts for Member States' temporary agents will probably be necessary, to be financed within the framework of the current financial perspectives.


EU Delegations

The Commission's delegations will become Union delegations under the authority of the High Representative and will be part of the EEAS structure. Delegations will contain both regular EEAS staff (including Heads of Delegation) and staff from relevant Commission services. All staff should work under the authority of the Head of Delegation. EU delegations will work in close cooperation with diplomatic services of the Member States.. They should play a supporting role as regards diplomatic and consular protection of Union citizens in third countries.


***


Comments


I have seen that the choice of a UK national as high representative and vice-president has been criticised by William Hague and other opposition Tories, who say that they would have preferred an economic portfolio in the EU Commission.

As I have stated before, I see the chief diplomat’s post as more important than any one economic Commissioner’s post. Admittedly, I am not trying to score points with the City of London.

On the other hand, Labour leader Gordon Brown have made a huge gamble by nominating Catherine Ashton, without much foreign policy experience, and none visible in security and defence policies, so we have to see how she will be able to master her new brief in the build-up phase of EU diplomacy under the Lisbon Treaty.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. Do you find EUSSR myths fascinating? Are we EU citizens worth a better European Union? Read some or all of the 481 Euroblogs aggregated on multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, and discuss our common European future.

New EU High Representative – the most important job

The most important job to fill, now that the democratic legitimacy of the Lisbon Treaty is assured in all 27 EU member states, is not the media sexy President of the European Council, despite attempts to inflate the job description way beyond that outlined in the amending treaty in order to justify the (s)election of Tony Blair.


The crucial post for the European Union is the new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy as well as Vice-President of the Commission, in charge of the external action of the union. He or she will chair the Foreign Affairs Council and lead the European External Action Service (EEAS).


This is also the assessment of Timothy Garton Ash, in “The US has lost its focus on Europe. It's up to us to get our act together” (The Guardian, 7 October 2009):


“… the personalities chosen as president – that is, chair – of the European council and as high representative for foreign and security policy will matter a lot; second, nobody [among US officials] understands that, for Europe's future role in the world, the latter is actually the more important job”.



Ralf Grahn

European Parliament: Vice-Presidents

In addition to the rare appearances of the oldest member (Rule 11) and the President we looked at earlier, Chapter 2 of the European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure mentions the following officers: Vice-Presidents and Quaestors.

Rule 14 provides for the election of fourteen Vice-Presidents after the election of the President and his or her opening address.

(The official explanation added to Rule 14(1) allows nominations between the ballots: Although this Rule, unlike Rule 13(1), does not expressly provide for new nominations to be introduced between ballots during the election of Vice-Presidents, such action is permissible because Parliament, being a sovereign body, must be able to consider all possible candidates, especially since the absence of such an option might impede the smooth running of the election.)


The EP Rules of Procedure, 16th edition, October 2008, are available here:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+RULES-EP+20081022+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN&language=EN



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Electing the Vice-Presidents

The election procedure is laid down in Rule 14:


Rule 14 Election of Vice-Presidents

1. The Vice-Presidents shall then be elected on a single ballot paper. Those who on the first ballot, up to the number of fourteen, obtain an absolute majority of the votes cast shall be declared elected in the numerical order of their votes. Should the number of candidates elected be less than the number of seats to be filled, a second ballot shall be held under the same conditions to fill the remaining seats. Should a third ballot be necessary, a relative majority shall suffice for election to the remaining seats. In the event of a tie the eldest candidates shall be declared elected.

2. Subject to the provisions of Rule 17(1), the Vice-Presidents shall take precedence in the order in which they were elected and, in the event of a tie, by age.

Where they are not elected by secret ballot, the order in which their names are read out to the House by the President shall determine the order of precedence.


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Vacancies

Rule 14(2) relates the precedence of officers to Rule 17(1) on offices becoming vacant:


Rule 17 Vacancies

1. Should it be necessary for the President, a Vice-President or a Quaestor to be replaced, the successor shall be elected in accordance with the above rules.

A newly elected Vice-President shall take the place of the predecessor in the order of precedence.

2. Should the President's seat become vacant, the first Vice-President shall act as President until a new President is elected.


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The duties of the Vice-Presidents, in order of precedenc, are laid down in Rule 20:


Rule 20 Duties of the Vice-Presidents

1. Should the President be absent or unable to discharge his duties, or wish to take part in a debate pursuant to Rule 19(3), he shall be replaced by one of the Vice-Presidents pursuant to Rule 14(2).

2. The Vice-Presidents shall also carry out the duties conferred upon them under Rules 22, 24(3) and 64(3).

3. The President may delegate to the Vice-Presidents any duties such as representing Parliament at specific ceremonies or acts. In particular, the President may designate a Vice-President to take charge of the responsibilities conferred on the President in Rules 109(3) and 110(2).


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Chairman ad hoc

In addition to the general rule that the President is replaced by a Vice-President if he is absent or unable to discharge his duties, there are a number of specific tasks which can be allotted to Vice-Presidents.

Should the President abandon his role as chairman of the plenary debate to engage in the contents of an issue, he would be replaced by a Vice-President until the end of the debate according to Rule 19(3).


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Bureau

The Vice-Presidents are members of the Bureau, and Rule 22 refers to the duties of the Bureau, which regulates the internal work of the European Parliament.


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Conference of Presidents

Rule 24(3) deals with the Conference of Presidents, which cooperates with the other EU institutions with regard to legislative planning and relations with national parliaments.


Rule 24(3):

3. The Conference of Presidents shall be the authority responsible for matters relating to relations with the other institutions and bodies of the European Union and with the national parliaments of Member States. The Bureau shall name two Vice- Presidents who shall be entrusted with the implementation of the relations with national parliaments. They shall report back regularly to the Conference of Presidents on their activities in this regard.


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Conciliation Committee

When the European Parliament and the Council try to reach agreement on a legislative proposal, delegations from these institutions meet in a Conciliation Committee. Rule 64(3) lays down that three Vice-Presidents are appointed to the shifting EP delegation as permanent members for twelve months.


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Ruling on Questions

The President can delegate to a Vice-President the ruling on the admissibility and order of Questions put to the Commission and the Council at Question Time, according to Rule 109(3).


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Written questions

The President can designate a Vice-President to rule on the admissibility of written questions to the Council or the Commission, according to Rule 110(2).


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Comment

The European Parliament is still excluded from or in an inferior position with regard to a number of crucial areas and issues relating to the security and prosperity of European Union citizens, but the EP has become an important co-legislator and the Lisbon Treaty would improve the legitimacy of EU legislation.

In its areas of competence, the European Parliament is an important player, setting standards for nearly 500 million Europeans. Lobbyists have discovered the EP’s importance ages ago, but public awareness remains low. Both mainstream media and citizens seem to be stumped by the complexity European Union decision-making.

Every organisation needs an internal machinery to work. The Vice-Presidents of the directly elected European Parliament form part of the backbone of an institution of growing importance. Some day even the European voters may realise it.


Ralf Grahn

EU Treaty of Lisbon: High Representative

Is the European Union entering the Facebook era? Perhaps not, but the Lisbon Treaty would go some way towards giving the EU recognisable leading personalities. The new President of the European Council is the clearest example, since this is a new post. If the candidate of the largest political party emerging from the European Parliament elections becomes Commission President, he or she will at the outset be much more of a European figure than the Presidents who until now have been sifted out by the European leaders behind closed doors. The High Representative already exists (presently Javier Solana), but the new High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is going to take over the external action of the European Commission, as Vice-President, and lead the External action service of the EU.

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Presently the Treaty on European Union (TEU; latest consolidated version OJ 29.12.2006, C 321 E) sets out the tasks of the High Representative in the following way in Article 26 TEU:

“The Secretary General of the Council, High Representative for the common foreign and security policy, shall assist the Council in matters coming within the scope of the common foreign and security policy, in particular through contributing to the formulation, preparation, and implementation of policy decisions, and, when appropriate and acting on behalf of the Council at the request of the Presidency, through conducting political dialogue with third parties.”

The Convention proposed a Minister for Foreign Affairs, in Article I-27, one of its most important institutional innovations. The new Foreign Minister would unite the beginnings of a common foreign, security and defence policy of the Council with the external action, including the resources, of the Commission under a “double hat”, as High Representative and Vice-President.

In the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (OJ 16.12.2004, C 310) all the Member States signed up to the Treaty, including Article I-28 The Union Minister for Foreign Affairs. Article I-28(3) added the following provision: The Union Minister for Foreign Affairs shall preside over the Foreign Affairs Council.

The mandate for the intergovernmental conference (IGC 2007; Council document 11218/07) gives a picture of the differences and likenesses between the constitutional setting and the amending Reform Treaty, including the fate of the Minister for Foreign Affairs:

“3. The TEU and the Treaty on the Functioning of the Union will not have a constitutional character. The terminology used throughout the Treaties will reflect this change: the term “Constitution” will not be used, the “Union Minister for Foreign Affairs” will be called High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the denominations “law” and “framework law” will be abandoned, the existing denominations “regulations”, “directives” and “decisions” being retained. Likewise, there will be no article in the amended Treaties mentioning the symbols of the EU such as the flag, the anthem or the motto. Concerning the primacy of EU law, the IGC will adopt a Declaration recalling the existing case law of the EU Court of Justice.”

Reneging on its signature, the United Kingdom had thus created, among other things, the word monster High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission.

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A few comments from your glossator:

The Lisbon Treaty devalues the rotating six month Presidency of the Council by creating a semi-permanent President for the European Council, who chairs the summits and represents the Union “at his level and in that capacity”, and by the High Representative/Vice-President, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Council and represents the EU externally.

With about 14 years between the Presidencies, it would be difficult for a Member State to keep up the proficiency to handle these questions. Within the very real constraints of decision making by consensus or unanimity, which mean that the European Union is bound to remain much less than a great power in foreign, security and defence policy, the new posts will give more coherence to Union policies if such have been defined.

Internally, the High Representative/Vice-President should be able, eventually, to coordinate the external action of the European Union better. At the same time, the Lisbon Treaty can be seen more as a takeover by the Member States of the ‘Community’ (Commission) external action and its resources than the other way around. Thus, the common foreign, security and defence policies are further entrenched as intergovernmental playing fields, outside the scope of effective democratic scrutiny by the European Parliament.

The High Representative is relieved of his functions as Secretary General of the Council, opening up a coveted position for a “grey eminence”. In the near future the governments of the Member States are going to be intensely occupied with the filling of these offices (President of the European Council, High Representative/Vice-President, Commission President, Secretary General). These processes tend to be less than transparent.

The citizens of the Union can do very little to influence the choices; voting for a political party in the June 2009 elections to the European Parliament may influence the political alignment and person of the next President of the European Commission.

Alongside the nominations, the drafting of a new European Security Strategy has commenced, to replace the ESS of December 2003. Developed guidelines to handle the various security threats of our era would be welcome, as well as clear advances towards common defence commitments.

Interestingly, the EU Treaties are denounced, from different quarters, as being emanations of “socialist plots” and “ultra-liberalistic projects” set in stone. Snappier basic documents in a democratic setting would leave the economic policy orientations to fought out at elections, but objectively the security interests are common to all citizens (despite substantial variations in perceptions and rhetoric).

Long term, the security interests of EU citizens call for effective decision making and democratic scrutiny. The need for institutional reforms is far from over.

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The Treaty of Lisbon (OJ 17.12.2007, C 306) inserts an Article 9e.

Article 9e

1. The European Council, acting by a qualified majority, with the agreement of the President of the Commission, shall appoint the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The European Council may end his term of office by the same procedure.

2. The High Representative shall conduct the Union's common foreign and security policy. He shall contribute by his proposals to the development of that policy, which he shall carry out as mandated by the Council. The same shall apply to the common security and defence policy.

3. The High Representative shall preside over the Foreign Affairs Council.

4. The High Representative shall be one of the Vice-Presidents of the Commission. He shall ensure the consistency of the Union's external action. He shall be responsible within the Commission for responsibilities incumbent on it in external relations and for coordinating other aspects of the Union's external action. In exercising these responsibilities within the Commission, and only for these responsibilities, the High Representative shall be bound by Commission procedures to the extent that this is consistent with paragraphs 2 and 3.

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The renamed Court of Justice of the European Union is going to be next.


Ralf Grahn