Toespraak Hoge Vertegenwoordiger Ashton over behandeling van de begroting en benoemingen van de EDEO door het EP (en)

I welcome wholeheartedly today's votes by the European Parliament. We can now move forward to build a modern, effective and distinctly European service for the 21st century.

The lives of the citizens of Europe are touched by the foreign policy every day. What we are doing in trade enables some to have access to markets and enables some to sell their goods. What we are doing in terms of counter-terrorism and security issues also helps keep people safe. So it maters hugely that Europe is a foreign policy actor and is able to operate in the world. I want the people of Europe to understand and recognize that and to support us in the work we are doing.

After the adoption of the decision in July and after long and sometime difficult negotiations on the amendments to the staff and financial regulation we now have the ability to recruit the staff to the EAS. And the amended budget allows us to have the financial resources to move forward into the future. So what this means is that over the next few days we will be able to put in place the beginning of the senior management team and to look at making sure we use effectively the money we've been given for the service to move forward.

It is really important to me that the taxpayers of Europe see an efficient service and to remember that most of what we are bringing into being already exists in different forms. One tiny example: currently the staff I have house in 8 different buildings paying quite substantial amount of rent. We can be more efficient by bringing people together. We can also be more efficient because we don't need to duplicate jobs or functions that are done in both the Council and in the Commission.

When you look at issues of geography and gender, what you have now is a combination of things. First of all the EU institutions have grown up for many years, with many people already in different positions, and when you have new member states who join there is a way in which you have to integrate them to the service. On gender issues I think it is also about looking for those obvious obstacles. I have done a lot of work over my life-time on equality issues so what I am looking for are the obstacles that actually prevent people coming forward and what do we need to do to encourage good candidates to come forwards.

If I just focus on women - one of the great obstacle that appear in many organisations is the need for them to have the continuity of their management experience rather than the length and depth of the experience. So I will be looking for a way to make sure that women don't feel that because of the lives that they have led they can't be part of the service at the senior, middle and lower levels.

And for new member states I will be looking at the ways in which we can get them to invest some of the support that their staff need. I am determined to see the whole of Europe represented in the service over time. I believe that people will see differences, significant moves forward, and see the trajectory because when you are building a new service it is like a journey, you don't do it in one go, but you reach your destination in a time.

Today is a day that feels like the end of the first stage of a long journey, and I am really grateful to the European Parliament for the tough determination and negotiations, but now actually for giving us the tools to draw in the people that are coming in the service and do the work to create that service. Europe needs to shape up to defend better our interests and values in a world of growing complexity and fundamental power shifts. And this is what we are setting out to do.