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Every year young people from around the world don grey suits and serious looks to participate in the “Model United Nations”, a kind of make-believe UN for aspiring diplomats.
Europe has its own such programme, known as the European External Action Service (EEAS). The only difference is that this one is for adults, is hugely expensive, and requires participants to sacrifice every last shred of their professional dignity.
Like a tired reality-show format (The Biggest Loser comes to mind), this sad display pops up on our screens with startling regularity. The latest cringe-inducing episode starred Kaja Kallas, the former Estonian prime minister, currently playing a recurring cameo role as the EU’s “High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy”.
Asked last week whether Europe had been involved in the US-Russian peace plan for Ukraine – arguably the most significant negotiation over European security since the Second World War – the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy replied: “Not that I know of.”
At least she was honest. The response was revealing, both for Kallas’ admission that she wasn’t involved and for her implication that even if others were, she wouldn’t necessarily know about it.
We now know that Kallas wasn’t alone. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron – along with every other European leader, large and small – were also kept in the dark.
The photos from last weekend’s gathering in Geneva leave little doubt about Europe’s role: On one side of the table sat US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his delegation; on the other, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s emissary Andriy Yermak and the Ukrainian faction.
European officials who were there appear to have been lurking in the corridors, trying to peddle their own peace plan and being ignored. As if to underscore their helplessness, von der Leyen weighed in from South Africa with what looked more like a hostage video than serious diplomacy.
“The centrality of the European Union in securing peace for Ukraine must be fully reflected,” she insisted.
Alas, wishing it won’t make it so.
The argument for a European foreign policy writ large (and the EEAS as the mechanism to realise it) has always been that, as with trade, Europe is stronger when it speaks with one voice.
Trouble is, Europe doesn’t speak with one voice and has no intention to. European federalists still cling to the fantasy that member states will one day agree to do away with the requirement for unanimity for foreign policy decisions. But it remains a fantasy.
Even after ‘Europe’ woke up to the reality that Washington and Moscow were trying to secure a deal behind their back, it wasn’t the EU that took the lead in projecting their voice but rather France, Germany and the UK – which of course is not even an EU member.
At the end of the Model UN, participants put their suits back in the closet, go for some beers and try to figure out what they want to do with the rest of their lives.
The EU’s would-be diplomats should follow suit.
Roundup
EU officials ‘overloaded’ – As the Commission starts an internal review of its workforce, staff are calling for a reduction in work hours, greater flexibility with teleworking, and ways to prevent burnout. In an online all-staff meeting, civil servants submitted questions about their working conditions. One participant wrote that “in some services, staff are permanently overloaded” – a statement widely supported by colleagues.
Getting EU-India trade deal over the line – EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič said he was unsure whether Brussels and Delhi can reach their free trade-agreement by year-end. “The last mile is always the most difficult,” he said, stressing that teams had made solid progress ahead of the December talks.
Time to drop the Oil Price Cap – If the EU, UK and the US are serious about curtailing Russian revenue, it’s time they drop the Oil Price Cap, argue Gonzalo Saiz Erausquin and Tom Keatinge in an op-ed. What was conceived as a mechanism to constrict Russia’s war funds has been superseded by more compelling measures – such as the US sanctions.
Across Europe
Competition at risk in Germany’s markets – Increasing market concentration in Germany’s food and retail industries are threatening competition, according to the country’s independent competition advisory body. Four large retail groups control a large portion of the German food retail market and continue to increase their hold.
France protests demand action to stop violence against women – Thousands of protestors across France marched through Paris on Saturday to demand action to stop violence against women. “We have the right to be loved without being abused,” said one protestor.
No need for counterproposal, Meloni says – Italy’s prime minister said the focus should be to discuss the existing proposal to end the Russia-Ukraine War, which she said included “many points that are acceptable.” The US plan was drafted without input from Ukraine’s European allies.
