Carl Bildt, the Swedish foreign minister, wrote on 19 February to foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton complaining about the manner in which way Joao Vale de Almeida was recently appointed ambassador in Washington (see post dated 19 February).
Bildt asks how the appointment was made, pending adoption of new rules governing the procedure, but with diplomatic [...]
Further to the post of 25 January, Baroness Ashton is still under attack for not going to Haiti, notwithstanding that the UN had requested that dignataries do not visit the island, so as not to disrupt the emergency aid activities. She stated then that Development & Humanitarian Aid Commissioner, Karel De Gucht, would go when [...]
Criticism of Catherine Ashton not going to Haiti shows why a Commission not directly answerable to the electorate has its advantages. Most national politicians fly to disaster areas for domestic political reasons. The last thing Haiti wants is herds of VIPs using valuable airport space and requiring attention, but with nothing to offer solely because [...]
The new treaty entered into force on 1 December; Hermann van Rompuy took office on 1 January; Cathleen Ashton, while already High Representative for Foreign & Security Policy, had to face her Europêan Parliament Hearing on 11 January; and the new Commission does not come into being until February.
And yet, to read the media, and [...]
The following letter will appear in European Voice on 21 January:
Your report of Catherine Ashton’s hearing gave her two stars out of five (“Commissioners’ hearings”, 14-20 January). You found her performance “uninspired and uninspiring” and stated that some members of the European Parliament were “exasperated” at “her evasive replies”. These views seem to echo those [...]
Implementation of the Lisbon Treaty will make for more simple and easier communication between European governments By STANLEY CROSSICK
Published in the Beijing Review 17 December 2009
After years of debate, disagreements and false starts, the European Union (EU) gave birth to the Lisbon Treaty, at long last, on December 1. First conceived on December 15, 2001 [...]
Many reactions to the appointments of Herman van Rompuy as president of the European Council and Catherine Ashton as foreign policy chief have been negative. They deserve a second thought.
While the secrecy in which the appointments were made is disappointing, it is understandable that consensus was needed on this occasion; hopefully not next time round.
As [...]
European of British nationality, for nearly 30 years Bruxellois. Deep believer in the principle of ’mutuality’ and Monnet’s axiom ”Thought cannot be divorced from action”, equivalent to Wang Yangming’s ”Zhixingheyi”. more.
