Summary of article by Von Horst Bacia, published in German in Frankfurter Allgemeine on 6 July 2004

Steadily rising to Foreign Minister

In his second term, EU Foreign Policy Chief, Javier Solana, gains more political weight

At first glance Javier Solana remains what he is: the charming, untiringly smiling and hand-shaking High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). His personal style shaped his role, newly-created five years ago, in such a way that the appointment of the Spaniard for a second term until autumn 2009 seemed to be a matter of course at last week’s extraordinary summit. The Heads of State and Government only succeeded in the search of a new president of the European Commission at their second attempt. Solana did not have any challengers and amongst the Heads of State and Government there was no one who intended to block him. This can be seen as an absolute tribute to uncontested merits. With a lot of personal commitment and unending energy, Solana tried to give a face and a voice to the emerging, often insufficient and contradictory foreign policy of the Europeans – at least when they have already agreed on a common position. However, Solana was always aware of the limits of his vaguely specified role. He cleverly knew how to be inspirational on the one hand and how not to offend the big players in the EU on the other hand.

What is more important than his confirmation as High Representative for the CFSP is the promise of the Heads of State and Government that Solana will become the first Foreign Minister of the EU after the entry into force of the Constitutional Treaty. This has significantly strengthened Solana’s role in his second term, starting on 18 October, because the future European Foreign Minister is wearing ‘two hats’: He is the representative of the Council for the CFSP and one of the Vice- Presidents of the European Commission responsible for external relations. Through this merging of formerly strictly separated functions, the Foreign Minister gains a unique position within the European Institutions.

1 After the decision of the extraordinary summit it is clear that Solana, as Vice-President, will become responsible for external relations in the new Commission in the foreseeable future. In other words: the Commissioner or Vice-President who is in charge of foreign affairs will have to leave at that moment. With 25 Commissioners it is likely that the work will be broken down into different aspects of external relations and that the Vice-President will be taking over their coordination. This could lead to rivalries with the High Representative as not all politicians are as self-confident and easy-going as Commissioner Patten, who never seemed to feel the need to profile himself at the expense of the High Representative.

Solana’s importance is increasing even more as the President-designate of the Commission and the future Foreign Minister were tasked “to organise the working relations between them in a way that will ensure a smooth and efficient transition” to the new system foreseen in the Constitution. This is one of the reasons why the appointment of Solana was only possible after agreement on Barroso. When Barroso comes to assembling his Commission, Solana will have a say, at least in his field of competence. The satisfaction about this arrangement is not concealed in Solana’s environment. The Spaniard, 62, did not publicly demand an extension of his term, but members of staff let show that Solana, without the prospect of becoming the Foreign Minister, might not have been available. It was said that the role of the High Representative was used-up and no longer developable.

The solution of uniting the roles of High Representative and of Commissioner for Foreign Affairs under one person is considered as a legal problem. It is said that this is one of the reasons why Solana does not prefer this solution either. Amongst his members of staff, another approach seems to be more realistic: to strengthen the competencies of the High Representative step-by-step so that he is practically already acting like the Foreign Minister when he takes office formally. The Foreign Minister of the respective EU Presidency could, for instance, leave the external representation of the Union to Solana to a greater extent. Nevertheless it is rather unlikely that the High Representative will chair the Council meetings of Foreign Ministers in the near future like it is foreseen in the Constitution. Another aspect of this is the establishment of a European diplomatic service, which is planned for after the signing of the Constitutional Treaty. In addition, Solana’s responsibility for the European Defence Agency could strengthen his role.

2 In the end, it is not decisive how many competencies can be acquired, but how these competencies are used by the competent person. This also applies for the future Foreign Minister. Though we can be confident that Solana will use each opportunity to strengthen his mandate, a strong and powerful Foreign and Security Policy cannot evolve without the political will in the capitals of the Member States.

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