Summary of JIIA Forum Presentation
May 20, 2010
Venue: Japan Institute of International Affairs

UETA TakakoAmbassador, Mission of Japan to the European Union“Foreign Policy of the European Union: Establishment of the European External Action
Service (EEAS) and Relations with Major Foreign Countries”

The rapporteur has served in Brussels since 2008 as the deputy chief of mission in chargeof political and security matters, and today she will speak primarily on the changes resulting
from the Treaty of Lisbon that went into force last December.
1. 60th anniversary of European integration
The Lisbon Treaty is the partially revised version of the European Constitution Treaty thatfailed to receive ratification, and many long years have been needed to bring about its
implementation.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration that led

to the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community.

Since then, themembership of the European Union (EU) has grown from six countries to 27 and the areasof policy in which sovereignty has been entrusted to the EU have also expanded.

Althoughnot all member states are participating, much of the EU has come to use a common
currency.

There is no EU army and the member states retain 100% of their sovereignty

with regard to foreign affairs and security, but those areas that can be standardized within
the EU will be.

Nevertheless, even major countries such as the UK, France and Germany

seeing their influence as individual states diminish within the international community willfind it necessary to take action through the auspices of the EU.

Areas in which the EU has

adopted and taken action on common positions and strategies for its 27 member states
includes the NPT Review Conference and reconstruction assistance for Afghanistan, effortsthat would be difficult to undertake even through bilateral cooperation.

The extremely broad range of matters falling under the EU’s responsibility has led tomember states sending extremely large delegations to Brussels staffed by highly-skilled
personnel serving as their standing representatives.

2. Changes in foreign relations stemming from the Lisbon Treaty
New organizational posts have been created now that the Lisbon Treaty is in effect.

1

One isthe post of President of the European Council, assumed by former Belgian Prime Minister
Herman Van Rompuy.

Although called the Presidency of the EU, the post more strongly

resembles that of a coordinator.

Another such office is that of High Representative of theEuropean Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European
Commission held by Mrs. Ashton.

This post represents the consolidation of two positions:the High Representative responsible for military and police affairs and the director ofdevelopment assistance at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for ExternalRelations.

Mrs. Ashton is also charged with overseeing the agenda of the Foreign Affairs

Council that brings together the foreign ministers of the member states, and thus she bears
tremendous responsibility as an individual official.

The External Action Service, essentially the EU’s “Foreign Ministry,” is being created in orderto support High Representative Ashton.

The staff members of the External Action Service

are seconded from three sources: the European Commission’s Directorate-General for
External Relations, the foreign affairs section of the Council Secretariat, and the foreign
ministries of member states.

Mrs. Ashton plans to launch this organization within her

five-year term, and progress is being slowly made.

The senior bureaucratic posts havebecome the focus of power struggles among member states.

The chiefs of foreign

missions have been primarily political appointments, but a scheme for recruiting candidates
from member states has been added.

The legislative authority of the European Parliament,chosen by the citizens of member states in direct elections, has been strengthened in theformation of this “Foreign Ministry.”transition.

Diplomatic and security affairs overall are undergoing aThe relationship between Mr. Van Rompuy and Mrs. Ashton is not clearlystipulated in the Lisbon Treaty, but the two are fundamentally independent and not in asuperior-subordinate relationship.

The permanent structural cooperation/solidarity clauses and the mutual assistance clausesin the Lisbon Treaty were included to strengthen the EU’s military capabilities, but the EU
has yet to address the issue of regional defense.

At the same time, though, there areabout 20 EU crisis management operations (PKO) underway, including both military andnon-military operations. Among these are Operation Atlanta to combat piracy off the coastof Somalia, the dispatch of an EU observer group to Georgia, and assistance toBosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

It is possible that

the EU can play a role in cases in which it is difficult to reach a UN Security Council
resolution or impossible for NATO to intervene.

2

3. The EU’s foreign relations
The EU’s view on the world situation is that there is a power shift underway on a global scalefrom north to south and from west to east.

As China, India and other emerging countries

are being lifted by economic globalization, the EU is seeing a relative decline in its power
and political influence. To maintain its influence in such circumstances, it will need tospeak with a single voice and bolster both its economic diplomacy and relations with majorcountries.

The US holds a special status among these major countries.

There was strong oppositionin the EU to the foreign policies of the Bush administration, but the Obama administration
met with an even warmer welcome in Europe than in the US. Discussions on US-Europe
relations had often been exclusively devoted to NATO, but the Obama administration has
been seeking to utilize the EU as an actor.

The EU has also been emphasizing relations with neighboring countries, with special focus
placed on the stability of the crescent stretching from the east (Belarus, Russia, etc.) to thecountries of the Middle East and the Magreb.

Relations with the EU’s specified strategic

partners of Russia, China, Japan, Canada and Brazil are also being given priority.

The EUhas concentrated a great deal of effort on its Russia policy and has voiced its support for theMedvedev administration, but has adopted a policy of partnership and engagement withChina, with which the EU has no particular affinity.

Last year’s COP15 made it clear that

the EU’s policy toward China was not having the desired results, however, and has
generated disappointment. The EU is extremely displeased about being marginalized by
the G2 (US and China).

In its relations with NATO, the incomplete overlap of EU and NATO membership makes it
impossible to achieve smooth cooperation between the two organizations. The EU has
attached importance to “effective multilateralism” through effective functioning by the UN,and has adopted a common position to present a unified front in its relations with the OSCE.

4. Japan-EU relations
The trade frictions lasting from the 1980s to the early 1990s no longer trouble Japan-EUrelations, and the two engage in regular summit meetings, foreign minister-level meetings,
and working groups at the political director, director-general and vice ministerial levels.
These working groups cover a broad range of topics and have become the foundations forEU policymaking. President Von Rompuy very much hopes that Japan-EU discussions will3

not be limited to bureaucrats but will instead carry political weight.

Japan-EU relations

have heretofore been skewed towards economic ties but, with the EU being forced to adopt
a defensive posture in view of the global power shift and the emergence of China, Japan
has been rediscovered on the other side of China; President Von Rompuy would like to build
more solid political relations with Japan and discuss China.

Engaging in specificcooperation with the EU would be in Japan’s interest as well, and the time has come for theimportance of political cooperation between Japan and Europe to be acknowledged by bothsides.

4