New EU Members Sidestepped in External Action Service - Report

The fifth wave of EU accession consisted of 10 new members in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia - and 2 new members in 2007 - Bulgaria and Romania.

Only two out of the previewed 115 EU-ambassadors in the new External Action Service are going to come from the 12 countries that joined the Union post-2004, according to information by Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita.

The Rzeczpospolita information, quoted by the Bulgarian News Agency, is based on a report of the Polish Institute of International Affairs, stating that 113 of the 115 future EU-ambassadors will be coming from the 15 pre-2004 member states, with one from Lithuania and one from Hungary.

Of course, if true, that would mean that Bulgaria will be among ten new member states without their representative in the ambassador position.

Poland has consistently called for a fair representation of member states in the EU External Action Service.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton, who will head the service, has announced that around 30 EU ambassadors will be appointed in September.

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