13 Apr 2009

EU trains a new diplomatic corps - without waiting for Lisbon Treaty

Five hundred and thirty staff from the European Commission have already begun training to build a "shared diplomatic culture and an esprit de corps" for the EU's putative External Action Service (EEAS).

Irish voters blocked the Lisbon Treaty, which provides the legal basis for a new Euro-diplomatic corps, when they rejected the renamed EU Constitution in a referendum last June. The disclosure that the Commission has simply pressed on regardless and begun training the euro-diplomats infuriated Irish politicians. Ireland is expected to hold a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in October.

Declan Ganley, an Irish campaigner for a "No" vote, said: "It is cause for serious concern that, by implementing the Lisbon Treaty, EU institutions are manifesting outright contempt for democracy." Privately, EU officials are aware of the sensitivity of going ahead with training a euro-diplomatic corps. "We are trying to push the envelope as far as we can within the current environment," said one official in "European Voice", a Brussels weekly.

More on the Telegraph and EUROPEAN EXTERNAL ACTION SERVICE: “Finally, the Foreign Affairs Minister will be in charge of a diplomatic service with delegations in almost 125 countries. The draft Constitution provides for a European External Action Service to be set up to assist the Minister in his or her functions.”