Following majority approval by the European Parliament at the last plenary session in Strasbourg before the summer break, the final preparations for establishing the European External Action Service (EEAS) are underway. The latest plans envisage the Commission’s Directorate General for Development being divided, with around half of its 300 staff being subsumed into the EEAS.

DG Development’s departments for governance and thematics are to be divided, and geographical desks will be entirely incorporated into the EEAS. DG Development will retain expert staff responsible for the substance of development policy and cross-cutting issues such as education and good governance.

An article in New Europe suggested that these changes “would leave a rump DG Development, which would probably be restructured along with Aidco”. However, Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs stated: “I do not believe there will be a big revolution in-house... At this stage, there is no merger.”

In European Voice’s special report on EU development policy last week, Tobey Vogel elaborated: “The EEAS will help prepare overall aid allocations and strategies for individual countries, but responsibility will be in the hands of the development commissioner, whose role vis-à-vis the EEAS was amplified as a result of negotiations between Ashton and the European Parliament last month. To take effect, strategic policy and programming decisions will require the endorsement of the college of commissioners”.

Vogel quotes a diplomat’s opinion that the separation of the thematic experts from the country desks is the greatest threat to maintaining a poverty-focused development policy. “If the thematic experts remain at the [Commission's] directorate-general for development and the EEAS is responsible for strategic programming, then who will ensure that the thematic issues are properly reflected?” said the diplomat.

Sources:

• New Europe
• European Voice

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