The emergence of rising powers such as China means that the European Union must create a new foreign policy capable of influencing them, the EU's new foreign policy supremo, Catherine Ashton, told the European Parliament on Monday. Ashton is set to steer the EU's foreign policy over the next five years, making her a key commentator on the bloc's future relations.
"Big power shifts are taking place, new crises are popping up, we have to make sure our responses keep up," Ashton told the parliament's foreign affairs committee at her confirmation hearing. "We need effective partnerships with all the relevant players: the United States, China and Russia, but also Turkey, Japan, Canada, Brazil and South Africa," she said. EU leaders named Ashton to her post of EU High Representative following the approval of the bloc's Lisbon Treaty.
The treaty created her powerful position as both head of EU foreign policy and vice-president of the European Commission, the EU's executive, to give the EU a more coherent voice overseas. Europe must make "sure that when we speak, our voice is heard," she stressed.
Ashton formerly served as a junior minister in Britain's Labour government and the head of its House of Lords before becoming EU trade commissioner in October 2008. Her appointment led to some unfavourable comments, since Ashton's only foreign policy experience was her 13 months as trade commissioner from 2008 to 2009. She has no military experience. Ashton said that areas such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Iran, the Middle East, Somalia, the Balkans and Ukraine would all take up her time in the coming weeks, without mentioning details.
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