Catherine Ashton benoemt 17 nieuwe delegatiehoofden (en)

Brussels, 16 May 2012 - Catherine Ashton i, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, announced today her intention to appoint 15 new Heads of the European Union Delegations around the world, and 2 new Deputy Heads of Delegation. These appointments take place in the context of the 2012 rotation of posts in the EU Delegations, and include 7 candidates from the Member States’ diplomatic services, 8 from the EEAS, and 2 from the Commission.¹

“I have once again been impressed by the quality of the candidates for these important positions in the European External Action Service. The Service depends on the quality of its people, and the ability to attract the brightest and best diplomats is vital.

I have been able to build on the appointments made last year in finding candidates from across the Union. The staff of the EEAS should come from all the Member States, including in the senior posts in Delegations. I am determined to make continuous progress on this, and to achieve a meaningful representation of nationals from all Member States in the EEAS.

Achieving our goals on gender balance is also important to me. I was able to appoint 3 women as Heads of Delegation in this rotation. I continue to encourage good female candidates to put themselves forward for posts in the EEAS, including at senior level.”

With these appointments, 57 of the 153 management positions in Delegations will be held by diplomats from national foreign ministries. The overall percentage of national diplomats in the EEAS is now 26.4%, comprising 37.8% in Delegations, and 19.3% in Headquarters.

5 of the 7 national diplomats appointed to management positions in this rotation were from those Member States which joined the Union in 2004 and 2007. This means that 28 of the 153 positions are now held by nationals of those Member States, representing 18.5% of the total population. Overall, there are nationals of 26 of the 27 Member States represented at this level in the Delegations (only Cyprus currently has no Head of an EU Delegation).

A total number of 717 applicants were received for the 18 posts in the rotation². Only 87 (12%) of these applications were made by women. 3 women (17%) have been appointed, all at Head of Delegation level. These appointments take the total number of female Heads and Deputy Heads of Delegation to 31. This compares with only 10 women in management posts in the EU Delegations when the Lisbon Treaty entered into force.

These appointments form part of a major recruitment exercise covering posts at all levels in the EEAS. They fill existing posts in Delegations as part of the regular rotation procedures and, as such, do not add to the resources or expenditure in delegations.

Further selection procedures are ongoing for Heads of Delegation in Cuba, Djibouti, Iceland, Morocco, Nigeria, Paraguay, the Pacific Region (based in Fiji) and Uruguay. At Headquarters, selection procedures are ongoing for one Managing Director (Europe/Central Asia), 2 Directors (Multilateral Affairs and Global Issues, and Conflict Prevention and Security Policy) and 1 Principal Adviser/Special Envoy (Disarmament and Non-proliferation).

¹ :

Appointments will be confirmed following the agreement of the host countries and administrative formalities.

² :

No appointment has yet been made to the final post in the rotation, the Deputy Head of Delegation in Turkey.