EU's Washington appointment triggers spat (Roundup)

Feb 22, 2010, 17:04 GMT

Brussels - The appointment of a European Union insider to a top diplomatic posting in Washington triggered a spat Monday, as EU foreign ministers complained they had not been consulted over the move.

Diplomats from a number of member states said that they had not been consulted on the appointment of the EU's new head of mission - effectively an ambassador - to the US.

The clash hints at a power struggle behind the scenes between the EU's national capitals and its central bureaucracy, the European Commission, as the bloc tries to set up a brand-new diplomatic corps.

Sweden's Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt, complained that - because the appointment had not been made jointly by the commission and member states, it was effectively a devaluation of the post.

'There was evidently a decision taken by the commission last week to downgrade the way in which we are represented in Washington ... I'm not quite certain it sends the right signal at this time,' Bildt said.

Bildt, one of the EU's hardest-hitting diplomats, criticized the appointment as 'going down to a lower level,' saying that new title- holder, Jose Vale de Almeida will, in effect, only speak on behalf of the commission, not member states.

'I think he will be a very good representative on that level, but clearly he is another level,' Bildt said.

But the EU's foreign-policy director, Catherine Ashton, defended her move to appoint Almeida, former chief of staff to commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, to the coveted post.

'I can tell you that the feedback from the US is that they are delighted to have someone of his calibre able to take the position in the next weeks,' she told journalists.

The fact that member states were not consulted on Almeida's appointment was 'exactly the right procedure' under EU rules, because it was up to the commission to fill the post, which fell vacant in 2009, Ashton insisted.

She has already asked member states to suggest candidates for other top postings, she said.

After the meeting, Bildt said that 'there has to be a procedure (for such appointments), and I'm confident that from now on there will be such a procedure.'

Under the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which came into force in December, the bloc is due to set up a shared diplomatic service to give it more clout in international affairs. Ashton is tasked with creating the corps.

On Wednesday, Ashton proposed Almeida as the new EU head of mission in Washington - one of the EU's most important diplomatic posts.

The body of commissioners approved the appointment, but a number of capitals protested that they had not been consulted.

Ashton said that 'one or two' member states had complained about the appointment. Other sources spoke of up to a dozen malcontents.

But some diplomats warned that the effect of the row would be to undermine the credibility of the EU in general, and Almeida in particular, at a time when the EU is keen to rebuild its apparently waning influence in Washington.

'Loud arguments do not do anyone any favours,' a diplomat from one EU member state said.

The creation of the EU's External Action Service has already raised tensions between member states.

Smaller members and newcomers from Central and Eastern Europe say that the process is being dominated by a handful of major states such as Britain, France and Germany.