Mr. David Cooney:

I will try to answer as thoroughly as possible. Since a number of issues were raised, I will take one at a time. I might make a point and then refer it to my colleagues because they might have something to add.

The first point, raised by Deputy Brendan Smith, was on the European External Action Service, of which there was some criticism but not by us. The creation from scratch of a foreign service in the European Union was a significant undertaking. The whole point of the service was that its staff would be drawn in equal proportions from the Commission, the Council secretariat and the member states. There are different administrative cultures in the various bodies. The whole system had to be set up physically. It is headed by two very able civil servants, Mr. Pierre Vimont from France, the head of the service, and Mr. David O'Sullivan, the chief operations officer. Mr. O'Sullivan may be known to some of the members since he started out as a third secretary in my Department. Subsequently, he became Secretary General of the European Commission and then a representative in Geneva and elsewhere. The European External Action Service has extremely able staff.

We meet secretaries general of the foreign ministries of the 27 EU member states every six months.

While two or three years ago there was a great deal of criticism of the service from many of the larger member states, at the last meeting in Vilnius about three weeks ago - the meeting is always held in the country taking up the Presidency rather than in the country holding it - there was mooted, if any, criticism. There is a real sense now that the EEAS is working, although it is still a work in progress. I was recently in Indonesia, where I received a superb briefing from the EEAS in Jakarta. I was extremely impressed by the whole team, as I was when I met them in Zimbabwe last year. For example, it is possible for accredited diplomats from Singapore to go into the EU mission in Jakarta and work there on a hot desk basis. It is an effective arrangement.

The EU is establishing a presence for itself internationally. That the EU High Representative now represents the Union abroad is a big factor in this regard. It has changed the way the EU Presidency works. Although I would not say the EEAS is by any means perfect it has made significant strides. I am confident it will become more efficient and effective as the various ingredients of the service coalesce around its operating systems. From what I have seen in terms of the reports from the services, it has a high quality and dedicated staff although there are issues to be resolved.