EU leaders agree on new post of foreign policy chief

Leaders from the European Union member states on Friday agreed to set a new post of foreign policy chief for the 27-nation bloc, but fell short of calling it foreign minister.

Diplomats said that EU leaders had reached a broad agreement on the role and powers of the new post. The title would be High Representative of the European Union for foreign policy, defense and security, instead of the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs. The new foreign policy chief will take over the jobs from present foreign policy chief Javier Solana and EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

Solana, who is formally called High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, mainly deals with crisis management, while Ferrero-Waldner takes charge of the EU's foreign aid budget.

The deal was achieved after Britain, concerned about losing control in international affairs, dropped its opposition. It was the first success at a EU summit, which kicked off on Thursday but was stuck in negotiations on a new reform treaty to replace the deadlocked EU constitutional treaty.

Germany, which holds the EU rotating presidency, proposed in its roadmap for the new treaty to establish a "Union Minister for Foreign Affairs", but left it open to change the title.

Diplomats said despite the failure to name the new post as foreign minister, its powers remain the same as envisaged by the constitutional treaty, which was vetoed by voters in France and the Netherlands in 2005.

The new foreign policy chief would chair meetings of the 27 EU foreign ministers and head a combined foreign service with both national and EU diplomats.

Source: Xinhua