EU Chooses Unknowns for New Top Jobs

Curt Here...

Today, the leaders of the EU have chosen Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy to be the first President of the EU and UK trade commissioner Catherine Ashton to become the first EU foreign policy chief. Both of these appointees are virtual unknowns in the EU political world and are somewhat surprising selections.

Neither from my perspective appear to be political heavyweights, and specifically in the case Catherine Ashton. She has never held a senior ministerial position in the UK, and she has no foreign policy experience. Leaving Biblical prophecy out of this discussion for just a second and looking as this from a purely political perspective, I am having a very hard time making any sense of it.

Keep in my mind that the bureaucrats within the EU have been trying for years to get the Lisbon Treaty passed. They had fought for this treaty for many reasons, but one of the publicly stated reasons was so that they could unite under one foreign policy and have a strong single voice to articulate their positions to the world. No offense to Catherine Ashton (I have to admit I know nothing about here, and I suppose she could prove me wrong) but is this really the strongest voice the EU has to offer? Something is not adding up, and I am not sure what it is.

In the meantime, obviously Javier Solana did not get appointed to either position, but this does not necessary mean that this is the end for Solana. In another article published today he was asked by the author, why are you stepping down? He replied, "One thing is that the EU has opened a new page and different stories what individuals do. I am a European and I have been working for the EU … before I was born. But I think I've been working in the position for 15 years and the position had to be changed and people have to be moved and that is healthy for any organization. That is healthy for the countries that we represent. That does not mean that I am going to sleep – I will be working for the same ideals from a different position.

I have yet to hear what this "different position" is exactly, although it is rumored that part of it will be some sort of advisor to the newly appointed Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton. So Javier Solana is going to work for Catherine Ashton? That doesn't feel right at all.

Is this the end of the ENP/Solana theory? To soon to tell.

Stay Tuned

Curt

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EU chooses unknowns for new top jobs

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU leaders have chosen Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy to be the first president of the European Council, while UK trade commissioner Catherine Ashton will become the bloc's foreign policy chief.

Welcoming the decision on Thursday evening (19 November), Swedish leader Fredrik Reinfeldt said: "What we were seeking were people to create continuity" and "to be the voice and face of Europe throughout the world."

Mr Van Rompuy, from the centre-right political family, is a trained economist and has been running Belgium for less than a year. He writes Haiku (Japanese verse) and is known for his low-key style, which includes a line in self-deprecatory humour and caravan holidays.

He came to prominence after Germany and France a few weeks ago agreed between themselves to promote him. Several diplomats subsequently suggested that his short term in office stood to his advantage as he has had no time to make enemies among other EU leaders...

...Catherine Ashton, meanwhile, emerged relatively late in the race to be the EU's top diplomat. Her name appeared after UK foreign secretary David Milliband, the preferred candidate at the beginning, said he was not interested in the job.

With the EU president being a man, from a small country and from the centre-right, Ms Ashton balances the scales in terms of gender, coming from the left and being from a big country.

Balancing these criteria is a part of any major EU decision, with conservatives laying claim to the presidency post early on in the game and the left later saying the top diplomat should be one of their own.

Ms Ashton, trade commissioner since October last year, has no foreign policy experience and has never held a senior ministerial post.

She said it was a measure of "her slight surprise" that - unlike Mr Van Rompuy - she did not have a prepared speech but pledged to "represent [European] values across the world."

Ms Ashton, who still has to be approved by the European Parliament, highlighted her skills by pointing to her success in negotiating a free trade agreement with South Korea, the EU's largest ever bilateral trade deal.

http://euobserver.com/9/29024

Solana: I am not a revolutionary

When people are tired of you and you are not ready to leave that is not a democracy, believes Javier Solana, who is about to step down as the EU's foreign policy chief in an interview with RT.

Why are you stepping down?

Javier Solana: One thing is that the EU has opened a new page and different stories what individuals do. I am a European and I have been working for the EU … before I was born. But I think I've been working in the position for 15 years and the position had to be changed and people have to be moved and that is healthy for any organization. That is healthy for the countries that we represent. That does not mean that I am going to sleep – I will be working for the same ideals from a different position.

http://www.russiatoday.com/Politics/2009-11-19/solana-eu-russia-democracy.html