Malta confident over significant posts in EU diplomatic service

Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg is “confident” Malta will not be marginalised in the selection of personnel to man the new EU Foreign Service.

None of the three high-ranking Maltese applicants was selected by Brussels in the first round of appointments but Dr Borg said this did not mean Malta would not get its fair share in the coming selections.

“I am confident Malta will be able to land significant posts within the new EU diplomatic service,” he said when asked for his reaction to the first announcements made by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

“Ms Ashton promised us this will be a service of all EU member states and we are convinced Maltese applicants will be given a good chance in the coming months,” he added.

“This was only the first wave and we are following what will happen in the next weeks. However, we’ve already made it a point with the Commission that Malta is after a meaningful, not just an adequate, representation,” he stressed.

The difference for Malta between “meaningful” and “adequate” is quite significant for the island.

If the EU had to assign posts according to the size of its member states, Malta would not even qualify for a single post. Instead, the island is lobbying for a minimum threshold for every member state to be represented in the service, similar to the one already established for members of the European Parliament.

Although officially Malta is not saying how many diplomats will translate into a “meaningful” representation, sources close to small member states said this should mean about 20 diplomats in the various categories of the new EU Foreign Service hierarchy.

The top posts in the first wave announced last week were given to Germany, Austria and the Netherlands although Spain and France managed to have a number of their diplomats appointed. Even Luxembourg, which, like Malta, is a small member state, managed to get two ambassadorial posts.

Last August, the EU issued another call for applicants to fill important positions in a number of representations around the world. Malta made its nominations and the results of ongoing interviews are expected to be announced later this year.

Small and medium sized member states fear they will be marginalised in the recruitment process at the hands of bigger members, which have dominated the Commission Department for External Relations (DG Relex).

Malta already has a disadvantage in this area as only one of its citizens is employed within DG Relex and at a very junior post. The majority of Maltese officials within EU institutions are based in the language departments, particularly translation, not the most influential arms of the EU’s policymaking machine.

EU diplomatic sources last week encouraged Malta to step up its lobbying if it wants to secure some of the important jobs in the EU’s Foreign Service.

It is a known secret that other member states are mounting intensive lobbying campaigns in Brussels involving the highest echelons of governments, including personal intervention by prime ministers.