Bulgarian Foreign Minister Offers Targeted Expertise in Balkans

EU High representative Catherine Ashton (seen here with Carl Bildt, Swedish FM) has accepted Bulgaria's offer of more targeted expertise in the Balkan region, as European Foreign Ministers met in Brussels. Photo by BGNES

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov has met EU High Representative Catherine Ashton for talks on the problems of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo.

They also discussed on Monday the question of the integration of Macedonia into the European Union.

At a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Mladenov has offered a more targeted use of Bulgarian expertise in formulating policy towards both the Western Balkans and other regions in which the country has traditional interests.

Ashton, EC High Representative for Foreign Policy, accepted his suggestions with gratitude, and in turn explained current progress on building up a new diplomatic service - the European External Action Service (EEAS), which is supposed to be in place in April.

The foreign ministers also discussed the situation in Haiti, and the subsequent actions of the Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, Bulgarian Kristalina Georgieva.

Other topics included the situation in Iran, and European relations with Ukraine following the presidential election. Ministers also discussed the EU's actions in Afghanistan.

The foreign ministers later aired a complaint against EC President Jose Manuel Barroso, accusing him of being high-handed and of undermining the authority of Catherine Ashton.

Barroso had appointed a personal aide as the European Union's Ambassador to the US. Joao Vale de Almeida, a fellow Portuguese who served as Barroso’s chief of staff for five years until last November, has replaced John Bruton, a former Irish premier, in Washington.

European governments view the job as the EU's most prestigious overseas post. They were disturbed both by Mr Barroso’s failure to consult them, and by the fact that Lady Ashton appeared to have had little say in the matter.

Under the Lisbon treaty, Ashton is supposed to be the authoritative voice of EU foreign policy, and to control all senior appointments in the Union's emerging common diplomatic service (EEAS).

Carl Bildt, Sweden's foreign minister, (seen above with Catherine Ashton) circulated a letter among his colleagues criticizing Barroso's willingness to push through the appointment at a time when all EU governments were striving to abide by the spirit as well as the letter of the Lisbon treaty.

However, officials said that de Almeida's appointment was unlikely to be reversed despite the complaints, as this would risk further embarrassment to the EU.

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