9 The European Commission External Service
| (28684)
—
COM(07) 206
| Commission Communication: The Development and Consolidation of the External Service: 2007-08
|
| Legal base | — |
| Document originated | 10 May 2007
|
| Deposited in Parliament | 11 June 2007
|
| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
|
| Basis of consideration | EM of 19 June 2007
|
| Previous Committee Report | None; but see (28304) 6192/07: HC 41-xvi (2006-07), para 2 (28 March 2007) and (27587) 10325/06: HC 34-xxxviii (2005-06), para 13 (18 October 2006)
|
| To be discussed in Council | To be determined
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Cleared
|
Background
9.1 The size and scope of the Commission's external activity is
set out on the DG External Relations website (see http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/index.htm).
It notes that:
"With the signature of the new Constitutional Treaty,
the EU will start working on the design of the future European
External Action Service. The EU must exploit to the full the
strengths of all the actors involved — the Commission, including,
its Delegations, the Council Secretariat, and also the national
diplomatic services of the Member States. There is huge potential
for the future European Union delegations to represent EU external
policy in bilateral relations with third countries".[32]
9.2 Turning to the Role of the Delegations,[33]
the Commission says that, although hierarchically a part of the
Commission structure, the External Service Delegations "in
practice serve European Union interests throughout the world".
There are 118 Delegations in third countries and 5 Delegations
(in Geneva, New York, Paris, Rome and Vienna) at centres of international
organisations (OECD, OSCE, UN and WTO):
— presenting,
explaining and implementing EU policy;
— analysing and reporting on the policies
and developments of the countries to which they are accredited;
and
— conducting negotiations in accordance
with a given mandate.
9.3 The Commission says "this means that the
Delegations exercise powers conferred by the treaty on the European
Community, in third countries, by promoting the Community's interests
as embodied in the common policies, chiefly the common commercial
policy, but also many others, including the agricultural, fisheries,
environmental, transport and health and safety policies. It also
means involvement in areas such as Justice and Home Affairs, in
which the European Community does not have exclusive powers".
9.4 In addition, the Commission says the Delegations
play a key role in the implementation of external assistance —
a role greatly expanded as a consequence of the devolution policy
carried out in stages over the period 2001-2004 in order to provide
EU external assistance more rapidly and more efficiently. "Increasingly,
not only will Delegations be closely involved in programming,
but they will manage projects directly from start to finish, in
close contact with the EuropeAid Co-Operation Office and host
country authorities, within the framework of rules set in Brussels.
They are also tasked, in concert with the EU Presidency, with
taking the lead in on-the-spot co-ordination of the implementation
of all EU assistance, multi-lateral and bi-lateral, to increase
synergy and EU visibility".
9.5 Delegations "also play an increasing role
in the conduct of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP),
providing regular political analysis, conducting evaluations jointly
with Member State Embassies and contributing to the policy making
process".
9.6 Finally, Delegations provide support and assistance
as necessary to the other institutions and actors of the EU, including:
— the
High Representative for CFSP/Secretary General of the EU Council,
"who can rely on their logistical support when on mission
and to whom all their policy reports are copied";
— the European Parliament, helping to arrange
programmes for and accompanying visiting delegations and Committees
where necessary and — in agreement with Commission headquarters
— reporting on recent developments in their host countries
and the development of EU policy and programmes to the Foreign
Affairs Committee and other Committees of the Parliament, when
they are back at headquarters;
— the EU Presidency, with Heads of Delegation
regularly taking part in Troika démarches, and "assisting
the Presidency in other ways".
9.7 In all these areas, the Commission says, "Delegations
serve an increasingly important information function as well,
providing background and updates on European integration and EU
policies to host governments and administrations, media, academia,
business circles and civil society".
9.8 In Brussels, the main partners in the Commission
are the Directorates General most involved in foreign affairs,
i.e. DG External Relations, DG Development, DG Enlargement, DG
Trade, EuropeAid Co-Operation Office, and the European Community
Humanitarian Office (ECHO). "However, in their service of
the Commission, the Delegations serve the whole institution and
not just the so-called RELEX family".
The Commission Communication
9.9 Against this background, the Commission recalls
that in its 2005 Communication on "Consolidation and expansion
of the External Service"[34]
the Commission decided to upgrade the regionalised delegation
in Sri Lanka to a fully-fledged delegation and to open
new delegations in Moldova and Switzerland. It says
that the first two objectives were achieved in 2005, and the delegation
in Switzerland became operational in the first quarter of 2007.
9.10 In the meantime, the Commission also decided
to open two new delegations, in Iraq[35]
(which opened in 2006) and Belarus.[36]
9.11 The Commission notes that its June 2005 Communication
also provided for the opening of delegations in Uzbekistan
and East
Timor, and for a representation at the
Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
9.12 In the course of the discussions leading up
to the 2007 Annual Policy Strategy decision, the Commission says
that:
— the
opening of a new delegation in Azerbaijan,
an office in Montenegro,
and the upgrading of the regionalised delegations in Tajikistan,
Kyrgyzstan and
Armenia
to fully-fledged delegations
were mentioned;
— provision was also made for opening an
office in Southern Sudan (Juba) after the signing of the
peace agreement between the government in Khartoum and the authorities
in Southern Sudan;
— the request for the opening of a delegation
in Somalia may be covered at this stage by the nomination
of a Special Envoy for Somalia, to be based in the Kenya Delegation
in Nairobi;
— the opening of a representation to
the African Union in Addis Ababa should also be provided for;
— all these actions are due to be undertaken
between 2007 and 2008.
9.13 The Commission says that the Delegations in
Switzerland, East Timor, Azerbaijan, Montenegro and
the African Union will be opened in 2007, together
with the upgrading of "regionalised" Delegations in
Armenia and Cape Verde.
9.14 In 2008 it envisages opening the Delegation
in Uzbekistan and the permanent representation at the Council
of Europe, as well as the upgrading of the "regionalised"
Delegations in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Yemen, Nepal, Togo,
Djibouti and Liberia. In each case, the Communication
cites local operational reasons for establishing or enhancing
the EU's presence.
9.15 This latest Communication, the Commission says,
concerns the development and consolidation of the bodies that
make up the External Service; that "it does not therefore
cover the question of requirements arising from the stepping-up
consular tasks performed by the delegations, as requested by the
Member States" and that "those needs will be the subject
of a more detailed analysis once the extent of the tasks and their
consequences have become more apparent".
The Government's view
9.16 In his 19 June 2007 Explanatory Memorandum,
the Minister for Europe at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(Mr Geoffrey Hoon) says that "the paper contains no legislative
recommendations, requires no new resources, and is within the
scope of existing Treaties. There are no provisions for cooperation
with Member States, except for a proposal to second a Commission
official to the Embassy of an unspecified Member State in Iran.
The Government therefore welcomes the Communication".
9.17 He also says that the total cost of the proposals
(until 2013) will be €55.482 million (£37.66 million),
which will be funded from the following existing budget lines:
— Expenditure
related to staff in active employment of Commission delegations;
— External staff of Commission delegations;
— Other management expenditure of Commission
delegations;
— Buildings and related expenditure of
Commission delegations;
— Development Cooperation and Economic
Cooperation Instrument — expenditure on administrative management;
— European Neighbourhood and Partnership
Instrument — expenditure on administrative management;
— European Development Fund — expenditure
on administrative management; and
— Pre-accession aid — expenditure
on administrative management.
Conclusion
9.18 It is plain from the DG External Relations
website that the outcome of the referendums in 2005 in the Netherlands
and France does not seem to have given the Commission pause for
thought. What gives these proposals their immediate political
importance is, of course, the outcome of the 21-22 June European
Council. The Council Conclusions incorporate the draft mandate
for the IGC that has been tasked with drawing up a treaty amending
the existing Treaties with a view, inter alia, of "enhancing
the coherence of its external action", including the creation
of the new office of "High Representative for the Union for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy" and General Provisions
on the Union's external action and specific Provisions on the
Common Foreign and Security Policy, "as amended in the 2004
IGC (including the European External Action Service and its permanent
structured cooperation in the field of defence)". [37]
9.19 Against this background, we think that these
latest proposals for what would be the backbone of the proposed
European External Action Service warrant reporting to the House.
9.20 We also note that the Commission says that
"the question of requirements arising from the stepping-up
consular tasks performed by the delegations, as requested by the
Member States will be the subject of a more detailed analysis
once the extent of the tasks and their consequences have become
more apparent". For our part, we recall the Commission's
Green Paper on "Consular and diplomatic protection of Union
citizens in third countries", which we considered on 28 March[38]
and which was debated in the European Standing Committee on 15
May.[39]
9.21 We now clear the document.
32 http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/delegations/intro/index.htm Back
33
http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/delegations/intro/role.htm Back
34
COM(05) 239. Back
35
SEC(05) 1450 Back
36
COM(05) 582. Back
37
See http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/94932.pdf,
pages 15-19. Back
38
See (28304) 6192/07: HC 41-xvi (2006-07), para 2 (28 March 2007). Back
39
See Stg Co Deb, European Standing Committee, 15 May 2007,
cols 3-15. Back
| 
