Turf war and navel-gazing over External Action Service must end

Strasbourg, 10th March 2010

Strasbourg, 10th March 2010 -- Baroness Ashton must now bang heads together to ensure that the creation of the EU's External Action Service (EAS) does not cause the EU to return to the introspection that marked the debate over the Lisbon Treaty, Charles Tannock MEP, European Conservatives and Reformists group foreign affairs spokesman in the European Parliament, said today.

Speaking in a debate with the High Representative over the future of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, Dr Tannock said that the commission and EU member states need to adopt a more constructive approach.

He said:

"The Lisbon treaty is now a legal reality even if it lacks democratic legitimacy. We will engage positively and move on to get the best deal out of the new External Action Service, and we would like to see a similar approach from national governments and the European Commission.

"The Lisbon Treaty was supposed to end introspection and bickering, but so far it has exacerbated it. Baroness Ashton needs to seize the initiative, to assert her authority and knock heads together if need be.

"The creation of the EAS should be subject to consensus but Common Foreign and Security Policy elements must remain with national governments. Baroness Ashton's role will not just be to forge a new service, but to ensure that it sticks to its remit. If we do not clearly delineate the roles and responsibilities of the EAS we run the risk of it gaining a momentum of its own.

"The EU has had many years to think about this service, so it is to its discredit that we now see a muddle and fudge in its establishment. If we do not get the service right now, it will be to the detriment of the EU's standing in the world, and it could see the External Action Service expanding itself, to the detriment of national sovereignty."

Contact:
Charles Tannock +33 (0)3 88 1 75870

ECR Press Office
James Holtum  +32 473 861762

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