Westerwelle backs Ashton
Germany's foreign minister rebuffs Belgian critique of the EU's foreign policy chief.
By Simon Taylor
May 10, 2011	11:10 am
Guido Westerwelle, Germany's foreign minister, has expressed strong support for Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, rejecting recent criticism by Belgium's foreign minister.
Speaking to journalists in Berlin today (10 May), Westerwelle said: "She has our full support and especially my personal support."
Westerwelle was responding to questions about Ashton's performance following criticisms expressed last week by Steven Vanackere, the foreign minister in Belgium's caretaker government.
In an interview published on 4 May by the newspaper Le Soir, Vanackere said that Ashton had failed to take the policy lead in the EU's response to events in north Africa. This had allowed the big member states to dominate EU foreign policy, he said.
Vanackere said that Belgium had expected the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU's diplomatic corps, which reports to Ashton, to be "the central axis around which member states could organise themselves".
Instead, he said, there had been "silence" and so, "in the absence of an axis to react to events, analyse the situations and draw rapid conclusions", the EU's largest member states – France, Germany and the UK – had taken over part of the role that Belgium had expected the EEAS to fulfil. Other countries then had to react based on the positions adopted by the large member states, he said.
Westerwelle said that Ashton had shown leadership on several issues, highlighting the EU's decision to impose sanctions on the regime in Syria for its violent repression of demonstrations.
He said that the creation of the EEAS was not meant to replace national diplomatic services and that the aim was to ensure "teamwork" between the EEAS and national foreign ministries. Ashton should be "prima inter pares," he said.
He rejected suggestions that the EU was speaking with different voices on the situation in north Africa. He said that there had been "discussions" about how to deal with Libya but added: "It is not up to the office of the High Representative to solve this."
Germany was opposed to military action to support rebels fighting forces loyal to the Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, while the UK and France argued strongly for armed intervention.
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Catherine Ashton