Ashton's EAS proposals against EU treaty
A legal opinion commissioned by a coalition of development organisations has warned that Catherine Ashton's proposal for the European external action service (EAS) contradicts the EU treaty.
Member states are set to discuss the plans for the new diplomatic corps at the foreign affairs council on Monday, with Ashton said to be confident ministers would provide their backing.
But the creation of the service, designed to strengthen the EU's foreign policy, has been dogged by disagreements over its scope, structure and financing since the Lisbon treaty entered into force last December.
Presenting her proposals for the EAS last month, Ashton said, "We can only punch our weight if we pull together all the different strands of our external action."
Under Ashton's plans, development would fall within the remit of the EAS, but NGOs argue that this would undermine the bloc's role as a partner of the developing world.
According to Ashton, the EAS will be the "common service" of the European commission, council and parliament in managing the EU's different development programmes.
Parliament's four largest political groups - the EPP, S&D, ALDE and Greens/EFA - have also called for development to be included in the EAS.
"The EAS must be ambitious and include all aspects of external policy - including development," they said in a joint statement.
"It is only through creating greater coherence that the EU will be able to have a voice and a role in the world.
"The proposed artificial separation of part of the development competences between EAS services and commission services is a recipe for incoherence."
But Cidse secretary general Bernd Nilles says the current proposals blur the distinction between foreign and security policy on the one hand, and development policy on the other.
"If you study the treaty, it is quite clear that the EAS is restricted to common foreign and security policy," he said. "The EAS has no mandate for development."
The legal advice from a UK law firm confirms that the inclusion of development within the scope of the EAS is against the spirit and the letter of the treaty.
"Lawyers confirm that the proposed setup of the EAS… contradicts the EU treaties," said Nilles.
According to the Nilles, one of the primary concerns is over the use of the commission's development budget, which stands at around €10bn, compared to only €300m for the EAS.
"The EAS supports intergovernmental policy and we are deeply concerned that the common EU development budget might be used to pursue national, economic and security interests," he said.
Nilles is concerned that the goal of eradicating poverty, the primary objective of EU development policy, will be sidelined by economic interests of member states.
Simon Stocker, speaking on behalf of Concord, told reporters that the confusion over the EAS "threatens to undermine the EU's credibility in the world".
"The confusion over the EAS is going to undermine not only development, but it is likely to undermine foreign policy as well," he said.
However sources close to Ashton have dismissed talk of a legal challenge, arguing that incorporating development within the scope of the EAS allows the EU to take a coherent approach.
"Poverty reduction is at the forefront of what we want to achieve with development policy," he said. "That applied yesterday, it applies today, and it will apply tomorrow."
"It's not about trying to divert development money for political purposes," he added. "It is about having an overall view of a particular country."
The NGOs are calling for a complete review of Ashton's proposals.
