EU plans international embassies
Pastor Dale Morgan
EU plans international embassies*
By Bruno Waterfield in Brussels
Last Updated: 2:31AM BST 03/05/2008
The European Union will open its own embassies under a plan critics fear
represents a "power grab" by Brussels officials pushing for a federal
superstate.
The secret plan represents the first time that full EU embassies have
been discussed seriously.
The "Embassies of the Union" would be controlled by a new EU diplomatic
service created by the Lisbon Treaty.
The Daily Telegraph has seen a high-level Brussels document discussing
plans for a "European External Action Service" (EEAS) which was proposed
under the new EU Treaty, currently being ratified in Westminster.
Talks have so far remained behind closed doors. Officials fear political
fallout over plans to implement the new Treaty before it has been fully
ratified.
Working papers circulating in Brussels suggest that more than 160 EU
offices around the world, including in member states, would become
embassies.
The new service would rival established diplomatic services. Britain,
with one of the world's largest, maintains 139 embassies and high
commissions in capital cities.
Equally controversial is a proposal for EU ambassadors who would be
accountable to the European Parliament.
"Parliament should aim for proper hearings of special representatives
and ambassadorial nominees in the tradition of the US Congress for
nominations of a clearly political nature," says the document.
Plans for the new foreign service have raised highly sensitive political
issues by giving trappings of statehood to the EU and by fusing, for the
first time, national diplomats with existing "eurocrats".
A vicious battle over who should control the diplomatic corps has broken
out between national governments and the European Commission.
Countries such as Britain are alarmed that the EEAS, which is expected
to take on some consular activities, would be a stepping stone to a
single "supranational" euro-diplomatic service.
Meanwhile, Brussels officials fear that, if controlled by national
governments, the new EEAS would draw power from "Community" bodies, such
as the Commission, to inter-governmental institutions such as the
Council of the EU, which represents member states.
"Any inter-governmentalism of policy areas under Community competence
has to be avoided," states the confidential document.
"The EEAS will have to be in a specific way administratively connected
to the European Commission."
The EEAS will number between 2,500 to 3,000 officials at its inception
in January next year. It is then expected to grow to 7,000, or even up
to 20,000, according to different estimates.
Britain, which loses its veto over the EEAS after it is created by a
European summit decision expected in October, is expected to contribute
around 20 to 30 senior diplomats to the EU service.
William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said yesterday: "As
predicted the renamed EU Constitution is forming the basis of a power
grab by the EU. It exposes Labour's stupidity in giving up the veto on
an area key to Britain's interests."
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The UK opposes and will argue against
naming EEAS offices embassies.