The EU’s Foreign Affairs chief has rejected last-minute attempts to have the new diplomatic service recruit staff from new member states according to specific quotas.

Despite facing pressure from MEPs ahead of a European Parliament plenary vote last week, which approved staff regulations and budget for the service, Baroness Catherine Ashton resisted calls to establish the indicative numbers of diplomats to be recruited from each member state.

Malta and a number of other states that joined the EU in 2004 lobbied for a “meaningful presence” and for specific quotas to be set.

However, Baroness Ashton insisted recruitment should primarily be based on merit rather than nationality, although she recognised the need for a geographical balance so that every member state would be represented.

The new member states fear they could be marginalised because the external relations departments of the European Commission are already dominated by staff from the “old” member states such as the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Malta is the least represented country in the Commission’s external relations staff, with only one junior officer. According to a recent study drawn up by a Polish think-tank, Malta should have nine officers to be adequately represented.

Prior to the vote in the plenary, the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee had backed the idea of amending the European External Action Service regulations to lay down “indicative recruitment targets” for the new member states. However, the proposed amendments were withdrawn later by the Legal Affairs Committee on the insistence of German rapporteur Bernhard Rapkay. Instead, the final text approved by the plenary only requires the EEAS to have “appropriate and meaningful presence” of all member states.

There has already been a taste on what might become an uphill battle to secure places in the service: Only four of the new member states have been included in the list of 28 ambassadorial posts available, with the bulk going to the old members. In his first reaction after this announcement was made last month, Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg had said he was still confident Malta would succeed in making inroads in the new service.

“Baroness Asthon promised us this would be a service of all EU member states and we are convinced Maltese applicants will be given a good chance in the coming months,” Dr Borg had said.

A new wave of appointments is expected to be made in the coming weeks following another call issued by the Commission last August.

The Times is informed that a number of high-ranking Maltese officials have applied for these posts. There is no indication yet whether any of them will make it through. According to EU diplomats, lobbying by EU capitals normally makes the difference when push comes to shove.