Sound The Trumpet : Eu Foreign Minister Has 'impossible' Task Ahead

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“Eu Foreign Minister Has 'impossible' Task Ahead”
by EUobserver - Honor Mahony
November 17th, 2009

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The tasks of the proposed new EU foreign minister look relatively clear-cut and powerful on paper but analysts and politicians in Brussels suggest the person will need to be superhuman to manage all that is foreseen under the Lisbon Treaty.

Formally known as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the beefed-up position puts foreign policy clout and the financial means to implement it into the hands of one person.

Until now, the two strands have been split between the foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, and the EU external relations commissioner, Benita Ferrero Waldner.

The set-up proposed under the EU's new institutional rules, due to come into place on 1 December, says the foreign minister will chair the monthly meetings of his national counterparts, be a vice-president of the European Commission, and run the nascent diplomatic service.

Full agenda

The additional baggage that comes with the position, however, suggests that the new foreign minister will not have much time for tasks essential to making a success of the job, including building up contacts across member states and in places like Russia, the US and China.

"Most of his month is already fixed," an EU official pointed out, noting that the minister will have to attend the weekly meeting of EU commissioners, chair the foreign affairs councils, attend bilateral summits and appear before the European Parliament. He will also have to co-ordinate the commissioners with external action powers, such as those in charge of trade, development and neighbourhood policy.

In the first months on the job, the top diplomat will also have to fine-tune the outline of the external diplomatic service, as well as set up his own immediate team of staff. Later administrative tasks will include agreeing the personnel of the service - expected to run into the thousands.

In addition to the lengthy to-do list, the person is likely to spend much of their time fighting their corner in an already very crowded EU foreign policy patch. "You've got a president of the [European] commission who loves foreign affairs and a president of the European Council who may or may not be interested," said the EU official.

Antonio Missiroli, from the European Policy Centre think-tank, said it is an "almost impossible job description."

He noted that one of the main assets of the current situation was that Mr Solana "had very little staff, so could be a roving diplomat and could establish relations all over the world."

The new job will mean "a lot of internal work, a lot of money to decide how to spend and a lot of people to co-ordinate."

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