Andrew Duff welcomes setting up of new EU Diplomatic Service, and calls for 'Active Common Policy'

10.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 7th Jul 2010

Welcoming the decision of the European Parliament today to set up the new European External Action Service, Andrew Duff, Liberal Democrat MEP for the East of England, called for the EU to start a real debate on the content of foreign policy. "Now we have Europe speaking with one voice, we have to decide precisely what it is we want to say", he told the Parliament's plenary sitting in Strasbourg. "What we now need is an argument. If we fail to compare, contrast and contest each other's national foreign policies there will never be a common foreign, security and defence policy."

Addressing British Commissioner Catherine Ashton, who will run the new diplomatic service, Duff said: "It's time for you to pose some tough questions to EU governments. For example, why do five EU states still refuse to recognise the independence of Kosovo? Why is Greece allowed to block the emergence of Macedonia as a state? Why is there still cold war between Turkey and Cyprus?"

Duff also called on Catherine Ashton to propose some answers, too -- "for instance, by launching a concerted civilian-military Common Security and Defence Policy mission to combat international organised crime".

The creation of the External Action Service is prescribed by the Lisbon treaty and will comprise existing officials from the external relations units of the European Commission, officials from the Council of Ministers secretariat and national civil servants. It will replace Commission delegations in third countries and will allow national foreign ministries to pool their resources and intelligence.

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