EU foreign policy Tsar Catherine Ashton has come under a lot of criticism, much of it
unfair and/or put forward by those who want the EU to supplant the member-states. In this piece, I have tried to defend her. I argue
that her realistic take on the EU’s role is in the UK’s interest: the last thing London needs is someone who ignores member-states to build an independent foreign policy. And she has
managed to get Europe’s SAHEL policy in a better shape, worked closely with William Hague and Guido Westerwelle to coax Serbia into negotiations with Kosovo and helped to solve, at least for
the moment, a crisis in Bosnia.
For these reasons, she retains the support of David Cameron and William Hague. As long as that is the case, continental plots to remove her will come to naught. She is, after all, Britain’s EU Commissioner, Jose Manuel Barosso is unlikely to remove her without London’s approval. For the Cameron government, the only posts that would be worth getting in exchange are Michael Barnier’s job as Commissioner for the Internal Market and Joaquín Almunia’s portfolio as Competition Commissioner. As neither man is likely to be moved from their posts anytime soon, a swap would be a bad deal for London. So, the British peer will likely stay.
And while the British press give Cathy Ashton a bad time, the truth is that she has proved herself to be quite gutsy. Today she is visiting Bengazi, to open a representative office for the EU. This is no mean, feat given how divided the union is over the Libya action. The most senior visitor to the rebel-held region until now had been the Polish foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, who travelled to Benghazi on 11 May. Makes you wonder why William Hague and Andrew Mitchell have not gone already.
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