EU to have double representation at G20
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Council President Herman Van Rompuy are both to attend G20 summits as representatives of the EU, it has been decided. The Lisbon Treaty which created the post of Council President specifies that he or she is to represent the EU in foreign policy matters. However, an agreement has been reached that in areas where the Commission has key competencies, such as over climate change, Barroso will speak for the bloc. The G20 also includes France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, as well as delegations from Spain and the Netherlands.
A spokesperson for the Commission told press on Thursday 18 March: "The two presidents have decided that the EU delegation will be composed of both presidents in one single delegation. That's quite normal, as their roles are complementary."
"These practical arrangements will ensure full coherence, complementarity and clarity in the way we approach international gatherings, in reaching our objective that the EU should speak with one voice," said Pia Ahrenskilde-Hansen, spokeswoman for the Commission.
Critics are questioning the wisdom of the EU's decision to have "double representation" at international summits. "It's hard to see how other parties will interpret this. If we also count Spain, who will be there as well and is also chairing the rotating EU presidency, we'll have three seats in a place already overcrowded by Europeans," commented Jose-Ignacio Torreblanca of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
"We saw what happened in Copenhagen: The fact that there are a lot of Europeans in a room doesn't mean that they are being listened to," he added.
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