On November 25, 2010, Lady Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, announced in a press release the appointment of the two top administrators of the External Action Service: Pierre Vimont as the Executive Secretary General and David O’Sullivan as its Chief Operating Officer. She declared in a written statement:
“I promised to appoint the brightest and best and in Pierre Vimont as the Executive Secretary General, and David O’Sullivan as Chief Operating Officer I have done just that. Pierre is held in the highest regard by the diplomatic community and will bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise on foreign policy issues. David has served in the highest capacity in the European Commission, as well as having a diplomatic background.”
According to DG Communication, Pierre Vimont, 61 years old, is a French career diplomat currently holding the position of French Ambassador to the US. He is described as “the best diplomat of the Quai d’Orsay [French Foreign Ministry].” In addition to his diplomatic skills, he managed to stay as Head of Cabinet under three Foreign Affairs ministers, Philippe Douste-Blazy, Michel Barnier, Dominique de Villepin, between 2002 and 2007. Mr. Vimont is also very familiar with European affairs thanks to his former function as Permanent Representative of France to the EU from 1999 to 2002. His new functions will be “responsible for the formulation and implement of policy, ensuring the smooth functioning of the EAS, chairing meetings in Ms. Ashton’s absence and maintaining relations with EU members and countries beyond the EU.” Mr. O’Sullivan will be, on the other hand, responsible for administrative and budgetary matters, communications, and human resources.
The nomination process is still ongoing, as Ms. Ashton should be appointing in the upcoming weeks: two deputy secretary generals and other high ranked positions such as EU ambassadors, managing directors, head of intelligence and crisis-management unit. The rumor has it that German EU official Helga Schmid and Maciej Popowski of Poland could take these two coveted positions of deputy secretary generals. With the appointment of top administrators and the final approval to the EAS’ financing rules by EU foreign ministers on Monday, the EAS will start operating on December 1st, 2010, a year after the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty. The EAS will be considered as a European institution allowing the Parliament to fully conserve its rights of supervision over its budget.
The EAS is on its way of making history as for the first time the EU will have a diplomatic corps. Looking back to Ms. Ashton appointment in early 2010, many expressed their skepticism over her competences and skills to fulfill such a difficult position. Even E!Sharp, back to January-February 2010, published an article on the newly appointed High Representative entitled ‘The accidental diplomat.’ Against all the odds, it seems that so far she has been able to sail in the dangerous waters of European politics and bureaucracy, while managing to satisfy the biggest European powerhouses. Nevertheless, let’s not get carried away, as of now the EAS only exists on paper. It will be very interesting to see how this diplomatic corps will function in practice balancing between EU and twenty-seven national interests.
