Parlement en Ashton op zoek naar een oplossing voor aanstellingen Europese Diplomatieke Dienst (en)
EUOBSERVER i / BRUSSELS - MEPs on the foreign affairs committee are keen to defuse a dispute with Catherine Ashton i over diplomatic appointments but are unwilling to back down on the issue of public hearings for nominees.
The head of the committee, Italian centre-right deputy Gabriele Albertini i, adopted a conciliatory tone in written remarks sent to this website on Wednesday (6 October) after Ms Ashton earlier this week cancelled a scheduled hearing before the parliamentary body by her new envoy to Japan.
Mr Albertini blamed the cancellation on the fact that he and Ms Ashton have not had the chance to discuss outstanding issues "due to her heavy agenda and frequent travels."
"I am confident we will find a mutually convenient agreement," he added. "As for the rest may I say once and for all that there are far too many speculations, and that there has been no harsh exchange between myself or my committee and the HR [High Representative]."
He described as a "legitimate wish" Ms Ashton's desire to personally brief the ambassador to Japan before he answers MEPs' questions and said "I am still convinced that 1 December is and should remain our target date" for the launch of the European External Action Service.
The Italian politician stuck to his guns on parliament's plan to hold the hearings in public unless there is a specific security concern, however.
"Naturally, the European parliament has a preference for public meetings ... For this reason such appearances would take place in public unless, as indicated in my correspondence to the HR, there are reasons to do otherwise," he said.
Mr Albertini also hinted he would use his influence on parliament's budgetary and legal affairs committees, which could in practice delay the set-up of Ms Ashton's service by holding off on their legal agreement on EEAS salary and staff regulations, if his views are not taken into account: "My committee is keen to see the EEAS in place and is working towards a speedy adoption of the Financial Regulation and the Staff Regulation, provided our legitimate concerns are duly taken into account."
The sister committees in the wake of Ms Ashton's cancellation on Tuesday put off two key decisions. The budgetary body froze €18.6 million earmarked for 2011 salaries for EEAS personnel, while the legal affairs group will now hold its vote on staff regulations on 18 October instead of 6 October.
The sister committees have their own beefs with Ms Ashton. Budgets MEPs fear she aims to set exceedingly high pay grades for EEAS staff, while the legal affairs body is keen to include "indicative recruitment targets" for people from new member states over the next 10 years.
Mr Albertini's version of events does not square with information coming from Ms Ashton's circles. EU i officials say she notified him about her unhappiness over the early and public nature of the hearings as far back as 27 September amid concerns that parliament might try to scalp one of her candidates in a show of power.
For their part, officials in the EU parliament believe her approach to be needlessly confrontational. "The way the Ashton cabinet is playing is not the best way to deal with the parliament. Just three phone calls to the right people and the whole thing could have been solved. There's too much pride here. Frankly, I am quite astonished by the way things have gone on," one contact said.
Meanwhile, the ALDE group's most senior delegate to the foreign affairs committee, Belgian liberal deputy Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck i, pointed out that MEPs made little use of their chance last week to cross-examine in public British diplomat Rosalind Marsden, who is to be Ms Ashton's new envoy to Sudan.
"Including Mr Albertini and myself, there were no more than seven MEPs present. For something for which we had clamoured so loudly, it was a dismal performance," she said.