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The muted and divided response by the European Union, its High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and by the EU member States towards the crisis in Ukraine and towards Russia shows that we can no longer avoid an in-depth and thorough European debate on the Common Foreign and Security Policy.
While the Lisbon Treaty created the post of the High Representative and laid the ground for the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) it is clear that we need to take another step during the next legislative mandate to give these treaty provisions real political meaning and to show that we can deliver unity when unity is needed.
It is my conviction that a united, efficient and pro-active CFSP will enable the European Union to become a global player in its own right and project our values and principles beyond borders.
However, I regret to say that we have so far failed to achieve this, notably during the recent crisis in Ukraine, in our policy towards Russia and also in the response to the Arab revolutions and the civil war in Syria.
However, I must credit the High Representative and the EEAS with some successes, the most important being the agreement between Serbia and Kosovo. On April 13, 2013 Serbia's Prime Minister Ivica Dačić and Kosovo Prime Minister, Hashim Thaçi reached a landmark agreement to start reconciliation between the two countries. One of the results is that Serbia started membership talks in January this year and the entire Western Balkans region took an important step forward towards a normal, European, future.
Baroness Ashton’s second significant achievement has been her engagement in the Iran talks. Although the EU was only one of the negotiators of the so-called P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council + Germany), Catherine Ashton is generally credited with having kept the negotiations on the right track. In the deal made in November 2013 Iran agreed to scale down the enrichment of uranium and by doing so limit its nuclear activity to energy. In return the EU eased some sanction imposed in January 2014.
As regards the Arab Spring, the result of the European absence is that other, regional powers stepped in. While European money is considered difficult, Gulf money is easy. They don’t ask for human rights or democracy, but for loyalty. Given the negotiations of the West with Iran, the Gulf is looking for allies. The EU response to the Arab revolutions and to the Syrian civil war has been a costly mistake. Civilian victims have paid the highest price and we will face the consequences for decades to come.
An ability to display greater unity in external relations would boost the credibility of the European Union. The High Representative/Vice President of the European Commission should seek to be a unifying figure, capable of efficient management of EU foreign policy and prepared to take political risks whenever a situation demands it.
While I salute Baroness Ashton for her achievements in setting up the EEAS and in being the first High Representative to also chair the Foreign Affairs Council, I have repeatedly asked for a more political stance from her side.
The High Representative/Vice-President of the European Commission should use the dual nature of her role in order to maximize the EU's efficiency in responding to global developments.
The High Representative is in a unique position to co-ordinate the efforts of the European Union on a wide spectrum of matters including - trade, development aid, enlargement, neighborhood policy, management of migration flows, climate negotiations, cyber and energy security.
This responsibility empowers the High Representative, but it can also represent an insurmountable work load for a single person to manage. Therefore, the Foreign Policy team should be managed as a cluster of Commissioners inside the College and assisted by 2 deputy High Representatives with a clear political mandate.
It is also important that we continue to use the national Foreign Ministers for EU-wide tasks. The Foreign Affairs Council should be the natural steering board for the EU Foreign Policy and empowered to contribute in a more pro-active way.
I am really proud that our liberal family has such a professional and well-known foreign minister as Estonian Urmas Paet. Mr. Paet has been one of the strongest supporters of Eastern Partnership which is extremly noteworthy in the light of ongoing Ukrainian crisis.
It is my strong conviction that all Member States will benefit much more if they entrust the EU, the Foreign Affairs Council and EEAS with a strong role in foreign policy choices and EU diplomatic efforts.
This includes a renewed effort towards a true Common Security and Defense Policy, with more ambitious goals than the current emphasis on ‘pooling and sharing’.
The opportunities enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty, in particular the so called ‘Permanent Structured Cooperation” could be a way forward in this respect for those Member States able and willing to move ahead.
I call for the adoption of a ‘European Security Strategy’ early on in the next mandate of the Commission, possibly in Spring 2015, following the recent developments in the world and in our neighborhood. It is my conviction that the renewed European Security Strategy must involve concrete measures to strengthen our defense co-operation and clarify the division of labour between the EU and NATO.
The European Union is a Union of values and must be prepared to stand up for them should the need arise.
The gradual and successive expansion of the EU has been the most successful transformative project that has ever taken place on the European continent and the enlargement policy has proven our capacity to build peace, ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and to advocate reforms that embed the rule of law and democracy.
Be it defense, intelligence or security choices, the European Union stands to benefit from acting together. We need to strengthen our ability to withstand the pressures of the globalized world, be it on terrorism, climate change or organized crime and continue to lead and inspire.