Dnevni avaz: By opening the door of application of the Lisboan Agreement on the huge reform of the European Union (EU), a strong campaign for the distribution of new, mostly strengthened and leading positions of the block has started, on which, as "Dnevni avaz" finds out, the EU leaders will informally deliberate during the meeting of marking the 20 years of the Berlin’s Wall fall.
The new function of the president of the Council of the EU, as well as the reformed position of the High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security are the key positions, which the Union plans to fulfill at the upcoming exceptional summit of the government and country leaders. For BiH, it is more important who will take the position, which for the last decade has been led by Javier Solana.
Strong lobbying
For now, several attractive names are being mentioned in media and diplomatic hallways. In the next several weeks it is expected that the countries propound their candidates, but lobbying and negotiations are already lasting for a while.
According to the unwritten rule, the strongest group of the European national parties should overtake the position of the president of the Council of the EU, so the “new” Solana should come from the European left-wing, or from the socio-democratic parties.
By now, two possible candidates have stolen the most attention – the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Great Britain, David Miliband, and the former chief of the Italian diplomacy, Massimo D'Alema. But, the last information says that Miliband gets out of this competition because the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown wants to keep him in his government.
D'Alema has at the same time said, as the AFP reports, that "he has small chances for that position". He thinks that the British are still the most serious in overtaking that position, "especially because of the fact that their candidate for the president of the Council of the EU, Tony Blair has not received a support". At the same time, D'Alema, as a former communist, is problematic for the Eastern Member States, but the sources say that his advantage is in the fact that he has a strong support from the Prime Minister Berlusconi.
Before the election in Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been considered a serious candidate, but after that no one mentions him anymore. Germans, obviously, are not interested in that position, so it has been proposed in the EC that Guenther Oettinger should overtake the department of economy and internal market.
There follows surprise
Media and diplomats mention Olli Rehn as a serious option. He has expressed his wish to remain in the EU institutions. The chief of the Swedish diplomacy, Karl Bildt is being mentioned as well. The fact that Rehn comes from liberals, could be a problem for him, while Bildt might have a problem with his worsened image in public because of the affairs and scandalous statements.
Besides them, mentioned are also Hubert Vedrine (France), Alfred Gusenbauer and Ursula Plassnik (Austria), Chris Patten (Great Britain), and even Bernard Kouchner, the chief of the French diplomacy, Joschka Fischer and several other experienced European diplomats. But, as the AFP reports, majority of previous nominations in the EU were surprising, so it will probably be the same again.
Lisbon strengthened its position
The position of the High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security, by the beginning of application of the Lisboan Agreement, will be much stronger, than it is now – under the leadership of Solana. In fact, it will be a position of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the EU, because the new General Secretary will in his/her functioning bond everything related to the foreign affairs in the Council of the EU and the European Commission.
At the same time, that person will also be the Vice President of the EC. That person will lead the new Foreign Affairs Service of the EU, in which all the offices of the European Commission and special representatives of the EU will be bond together.