When we look at the foreign policy experience Catherine Ashton gathered over the last year, one might look at the list of important non-EU leaders she met during that time (non-comprehensive):
- Celso Amorim, Brasilian Foreign Minister (source)
- Rohitha Bogollagama, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister (source)
- Simon Crean, Australian Trade Minister (source)
- Stockwell Day, Canadian Minister of International Trade (source)
- Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, South African Foreign Minister (source)
- Hage Geingob, Namibian Minister of Trade and Industry (source)
- Seretse Khama Ian Khama, President of Botswana (source)
- Kim Jong-hoon, South Korean Trade Minister (source)
- Ron Kirk, United States Trade Representative (source)
- Pascal Lamy, WTO Director General (source)
- Elvira Nabiullina, Russian Minister for Economic Development (source)
- Anand Sharma, Indian Trade Minister (source)
- Yang Jiechi, Chinese Foreign Minister (source)
- Asthon's reaction at the press conference on Thursday
- Al Jazeera interview after her selection on Thursday
- BBC Hardtalk discussion on free trade in March: 24 minutes video
- Speech and discussions at the Carnegie Endowment: 1 hour video
- The hearing of Ashton at the European Parliament before her appointment as EU Commissioner: Audio (MP3)
The information above just give some indications to the fact that she was indeed able to gather some relevant foreign policy experience over the last year and that she is able to be as outgoing as she can be diplomatic - let's see what else will be brought up.
5 comments:
Very interesting. Thanks for researching and putting this together.
@parliamentary threats concerning Ashton: I think that's just sabre-rattling. They won't block her.
I am a bit worried about how the Council treats the demands of the Parliament of having an informed say on her appointment. The Parliament wants to conduct a hearing with her like every normal commissioner, that would need some time, but the Council wants her to get into office already on the 1st December. That could mean however that the Parliament is holding a hearing over someone who is already in office anyway.
There seems to be a fight about this between Council and Commission with the Parliament and I am worried that the latter could loose it. It would be a bad development for the European democracy.
PS: Some papers are reporting about it, but its unbelievable how scarce informations are. If such a power struggle would take place in one of the member states, the papers would be full of stories about it.
I've been writing about this 10 days ago:
http://julienfrisch.blogspot.com/2009/11/will-high-representative-come-into.html
Thanks for that link do your older post.
It seems the Council, Commission and the Parliament have agreed on a "compromise". There will be a sort of hearing on 2nd December or so and the Parliament may give a 2 month lasting consent. Ashton will be subject of the official hearing in January however as well and her post will be included in the vote over the Commission.
I am not sure if she will be in the position of the Commission Vice president at all until the Commission as a whole gets into office, it could be that she isn't.
Don't ask me what I think about this, I certainly don't like it, but it could have come worse I guess..
Well, if it is done with the consent of Parliament it is at least a better than against the its will.
It's still strange that she can be in the old Commission and shape the foreign service that she might be leading when she'll be in the new Commission.
I am not convinced legally, and I have doubts politically...
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