Како да се подобри #EUForeignPolicy

On 17 June, the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) will discuss ways to improve CFSP after several member states called for ‘stronger cohesion, greater coherence and increased effectiveness in EU foreign policy, пишува Фрејзер Камерон. 

The member states might look at themselves in the mirror as the Lisbon treaty pointedly asked them to support the Union’s foreign policy ‘actively and unreservedly in a spirit of loyalty and mutual solidarity.’ It is fair to say that these cкарактеристики have not always been on display in recent years. 

The Lisbon treaty is vague on foreign policy. The European Council is tasked with setting the strategic guidelines for the CFSP додека High Representative is supposed to implement the политика. One of the main problems, жкако и да е, is the gap between the FAC and the European Council. Сè повеќе, major foreign policy issues are decided by главаs of government and foreign ministers have little say. 

Since Lisbon, Лидерите на ЕУ seem content with a chair focused on finding compromises on the domestic front rather than elbowing them out of the limelight on the world stage. Herman van Rompuy was almost totally consumed by the financial crisis   Доналд Туск by Brexit. The EU must, затоа, select a President of the European Council who can really engage with world leaders and follow through on foreign policy decisions.

Иако the High Rep chairs the FAC, the hoped for coherence and effectiveness has not materialized. It has also lessened the buy in of foreign ministers (and foreign ministries) as they no longer have their six months in the EU limelight (unlike their fellow ministers holding the rotating presidency). Има needs to be more consideration of how to involve the member states in policy formulation and understand their domestic constraints. 

The deputy question 

The High Rep job description calls for a superhuman who does not sleep and is content to spend half their life on a plane. Могерини has no official deputy and thus has to spread herself thinly. Given member states’ sensitivities it is impossible to establish a deputy title at Commissioner level. One could, therefore, envisage a more structured system whereby Commissioners with geographical or functional responsibilities are де факто deputies tasked by and reporting to the High Rep. The neighbourhood commissioner would cover foreign and security policy matters as would потенцијал Commissioner for Africa. 

Маркетинг

The presidency foreign minister, EU troika or even an ad hoc group of member states could also be given specific tasks by the FAC and together this would then free up the High Rep to concentrate on the EU’s strategic partners and high-level international events. 

Majority voting

The recent struggles to adopt joint statements on China, Venezuela and the INF Treaty have prompted renewed calls for the EU to move towards qualified majority voting in foreign policy. Given the rapidity of world events the EU cannot wait until the slowest is on board. The EU could continue with the 27-1 formula (used to agree a statement on China last year) putting pressure on a recalcitrant state to abstain rather than block a policy statement. It could also make more use of existing treaty provisions for QMV on implementing CFSP decisions eg on renewal of sanctions. Some member states will object to attempts to introduce even modest changes involving QMV on foreign policy but if the EU is shown to be ineffective at 28 then it will strengthen the smaller groupings of larger member states.

Reforming the EEAS

The European External Action Service (EEAS) still struggles to make an impact in many parts of the world. This is partly due to the lack of solidarity from member states and the lack of any brand recognition. The lack of a coherent or visible brand is a serious deficit which could be partly remedied with a simple name change. The European External Action Service sounds more like an NGO dispensing aid than a new kind of diplomatic service. Even if there are objections in some quarters it should be called what it is - or aspires to be - the European Foreign Service. 

В.onstant travelling means that the High Rep has little time to manage the EEAS, set priorities or initiate proposals. Many EEAS officials moan that the institution is just a briefing machine with little influence on policy making. The редовно issuing of statements recounting facts on this or that or simply listing who the High Rep has met without any policy output has eroded credibility. 

There is no official historian, no decent archive system, no proper international law department, no chief of protocol and no dedicated foreign policy media briefings as opposed to occasional door stopping before and after Council meetings. The staff rotation system involving EU and member state diplomats has also meant that there is little continuity and much of the knowledge and expertise of the former Commission and Council staff has been lost. Coordination and cooperation with the Commission which has most of the essential tools (money, technical assistance, etc) can also be improved. The post of secretary general of the EEAS should essentially be a management job. 

Јавна поддршка

Any successful foreign policy needs to be supported by the public. The HighRep should thus produce a six monthly report on CFSP, readable for the general public, which is debated both in the European Parliament and national parliaments during the same week. Foreign ministers would have to explain and defend what was being done under CFSP thus helping to trigger an EU-wide политика debate. Foreign ministers should be encouraged to include references to the EU in their speeches and press releases. The HighRep should also convene a six monthly meeting of the chairs of foreign affairs committees in national parliaments.

Заклучок

There is no magic bullet to transform and improve EU foreign and security policy. There are inevitable problems when trying to coordinate 28 states with very different foreign policy traditions, capabilities and interests. This is especially true in the security sphere where relations with the US and NATO continue to be a defining feature for all member states. Should Brexit happen it will add another complication for the CFSP.

The next president of the European Council should play a more active foreign policy role, setting priorities with the heads of state and government together with the High Rep who should be a male (to ensure it does not become a female position). A strong personality to provide vision and policy steer will help. The deputy question needs to be addressed to free up the High Rep to concentrate on priority issues. At the same time there must be better cooperation and liaison with the member states both in the elite and public domains. A move away from unanimity in all cases is required if the EU is going to be viewed as a credible actor and respond in real time to crisis situations. The EEAS, name change or not, needs better management and a much greater effort at public diplomacy not least with the member states. 

Фрејзер Камерон, a former diplomat and EU official, is a senior advisor to the European Policy Centre. He is the author of An Introduction to EU Foreign Policy. 

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