Rory Watson: Baroness Ashton's EU foreign service is now shaping up

IF ALL goes according to plan this week, the European Union will be able to start recruiting the most senior members of its new diplomatic corps, the European External Action Service, later this month.

All that is required is for the European Parliament to vote its formal agreement today to a political deal brokered by the main players two weeks ago in Madrid.

When the green light is given for the new service, it will represent a major success for Catherine Ashton, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, and will go a long way towards her target of having the new team of diplomats who will represent the EU throughout the world up and running by early December.

Since taking up her post seven months ago, Baroness Ashton has been the frequent target of widespread criticism. For many, her biggest failing was her total lack of foreign policy experience. She has had to become a fast learner on the international stage. Others complain when her crowded agenda means she has to forego certain events for more pressing duties or allege that she is secretly favouring British diplomats in the new service.

Such criticism has gradually become a thing of the past as the shape of the new service, which will have some 1,100 staff, has gradually become apparent. But to reach this stage, Baroness Ashton has had to fight major turf wars as national governments and the European Commission have jealously fought to defend their own foreign policy prerogatives. The bickering and arguments starkly highlighted the gap between officials and diplomats staunchly defending their own traditional practices and the Lisbon Treaty which came into force last December and ushered in the new service on the grounds that, with its merged responsibilities, it would give the EU a sharper presence on the world stage.

By late spring, Baroness Ashton had reached an agreement with EU governments on the embryonic External Action Service. This sought to balance the interests of the European Commission, which plays a major role in handling overseas development aid, with national governments' political preoccupations. She then had to turn her attention to the European Parliament, which has used its considerable powers over EU expenditure and recruitment to press for greater influence over the future diplomatic corps.

At times, the parliament, which invariable astutely uses each EU treaty change to win a greater say in decision making, appeared ready to block any agreement until after the summer, making the December timetable impossible to meet. The Spanish government, which held the rotating EU presidency until the end of June, eventually managed to broker a deal two weeks ago.

One of the issues which had caused concern among MEPs was who would deputise for Baroness Ashton when she is unable to appear before them herself.

In the end, it was agreed her place be taken by another European Commissioner with knowledge of foreign affairs or by the foreign minister of the country holding the rotating EU presidency.

The parliament failed in its bid to have public US Senate-style hearings for the special representatives when Baroness Ashton appoints them. Instead, MEPs will only have informal meetings with them. The parliament will also have budgetary responsibility over the new service's operational and administrative expenditure.

Now Baroness Ashton is set to come under more pressure as she begins selecting her top officials. At the top of the pyramid will be three secretary generals, one of whom will be an executive secretary general above the other two. It is almost certain that French, British and German nationals will be in the frame for the top posts.

Lower down, a whole raft of officials need to be selected. An initial call for 32 heads of delegations around the world has brought hundreds of applications.. One wry observation in Brussels is that some national foreign ministries are only working part-time as staff brush up their applications.

Baroness Ashton has made clear she will not apply a quota system to the process. The criterion will be suitability for the post, not nationality. But for months now some countries, notably Poland, have been insisting on geographical balance among recruits - code for quotas.

The Foreign Policy High Representative is on the brink of completing the first stage of her marathon task to breathe life into the new external action service.

• Rory Watson writes for the EU-Russia Centre. zz