EU 59: Letter to the Committee Specialist from the Parliamentary Relations Team, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

 

 

Thank you for your letter of 3 March in which you raised two points about the Foreign Secretary's published response to the Committee's Third Report of Session 2007-08, Foreign Policy Aspects of the Lisbon Treaty. Specifically, these were on the role of the new full-time President of the European Council and the European External Action Service.

 

President of the European Council

 

You asked the Foreign Secretary to specify the "possible future changes" to international institutions, as he mentioned in relation to the role of the new full-time President of the European Council to represent the EU externally. The reference to "possible future changes" was intended to illustrate the robustness of the Lisbon Treaty arrangements in this area rather than imply that there were specific changes in prospect. The point that this section of the response was meant to convey is that, if the Treaty limited the occasions on which the President of the European Council could represent the EU, it could deny the possibility of a more coherent and consistent EU response at international meetings, where its benefit may be greatest.

 

European External Action Service

 

You also asked for the Committee to be copied letters updating the House of Commons' Scrutiny Committee and the House of Lords European Union Select Committee on discussion of the European External Action Service during the French EU Presidency. I have asked my colleagues to ensure you receive them.

 

 

4 April 2008