EU diplomacy on Egypt: Business as usual

As the story in Egypt unfolds it is interesting (and depressing as usual) to watch EU diplomacy in practice. Especially with all the talk about the “one voice in the world” and the reforms of the Lisbon Treaty (EEAS etc.).  Well, “quiet diplomacy” in action, I suppose!

So, what happened in the EU institutions so far? High Rep Catherine Ashton gave a statement on Egypt on Thursday (pdf) and on Friday evening (pdf). On Saturday European Council President Van Rompuy also issued a statement (pdf). All statements seemed very moderate and basically called all parties to refrain from violence.  However almost none of this made it into the mainstream media. Having watched the excellent Al Jazeera live stream during the last days I think it is safe to say to most people following the event did not heard of these statements. But why is that? Apart from political and institutional disagreements we could witness a few basic public diplomacy mistakes (This post is NOT  about EU-Egypt relations! Suffice to say that Egypt is in the EU neighbourhood and is included in the ENP. The question whether the EU has a coherent and efficient policy in place is another (and very important) question that I don’t want to discuss here):

• It was obvious on Friday afternoon around 3pm/4pm (Brussels time) what was happening in Egypt. However, no statement of Ashton in the afternoon. The statement was published in the evening – after a statement of Hillary Clinton (at least this is how I remember it).  It would have been crucial to put out a statement before Washington wakes up to the story because as long as the Americans do not react on a story all media outlets would at least consider to report the EU reaction. (Not to mention the difficulty for the US to criticise Mubarak and Obama’s failure to mention “democracy” in his speech on Friday – a real opportunity for the EU!) The first crucial reaction is important if one wants to shape the discourse and influence events!

• The most striking EU problem has been the lack of any video footage. This is a basic PR mistake. Public diplomacy only exists if the public knows about your diplomacy. Especially in the case of the “televised” protests in Egypt it would have been a good opportunity to get Ashton on TV!  Is it really that difficult to organise an exclusive Ashton interview for Al Jazeera?  Or a press conference with Catherine Ashton, let’s  say on Friday at 5pm?  Later in the evening Clinton and Obama appeared on TV and the pictures were circulated on all major news outlets…

• I know these criticisms might be a bit unfair given that the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council will take place on Monday 31/1  and the agenda has been changed and Egypt is now included.  However, a joint statement of all 27 EU Member States 3 days after Friday 28/1 and almost a week after 25/1 is just too late. Even if the EU manages at least to agree on one  position – nobody will take notice (I hope I am wrong on this though!) So, the timing needs to be improved.

• It is difficult to coordinate 27 MfAs but this is the job of Ms Ashton – also on a Friday afternoon or during the weekend! We were promised that the Lisbon Treaty would make everything more efficient – well it is not happening, is it?  And statements are not (yet) policy – here the High Rep can improvise to a certain extent (there are quite a few documents on EU-Egypt relations that can be used for inspiration)! One could come to the conclusion that the lack of foreign policy expertise of Ms Ashton is part of the problem here. She does not seem to have a “feeling” for the situation. So if the EU is serious about being an actor in international politics it needs to react more quickly on major international events! It’s the media, stupid!

• And on Saturday we also witnessed the “worst case scenario” in  EU foreign policy. A joint statement of the UK, France, Germany on Egypt. The “big three”: Angela Merkel, David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy took over, issued a statement and it made it into all major news! The statement was published in German, English and French on the respective national websites:

“We are deeply concerned about the events that we are witnessing in Egypt. We recognise the moderating role President Mubarak has played over many years in the Middle East. We now urge him to show the same moderation in addressing the current situation in Egypt.”

“We call on President Mubarak to avoid at all costs the use of violence against unarmed civilians, and on the demonstrators to exercise their rights peacefully.

“It is essential that the further political, economic and social reforms President Mubarak has promised are implemented fully and quickly and meet the aspirations of the Egyptian people.

“There must be full respect for human rights and democratic freedoms, including freedom of expression and communication, including use of telephones and the internet, and the right of peaceful assembly.”

“The Egyptian people have legitimate grievances and a longing for a just and better future. We urge President Mubarak to embark on a process of transformation which should be reflected in a broad-based government and in free and fair elections.”

So, business as usual. No “common” foreign policy of the EU. The “big three” sideline the EU and dominate the headlines and the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday.  One could of course argue whether “one voice – one policy” or ” many voices – one policy” is the better strategy. However, it would be interesting to know whether they actually tried to organise a EU initiative or if the call for “free and fair elections”(arguably, the most radical part of the statement) is really contested among EU member states? Another question is if Ms Ashton knew about this initiative and whether she agreed with it…

Update 31/1/2011:  Council Conclusions on Egypt (pdf)

—–

Update 11/2/2011: Mubarak resigned – and the EU must have learnt a lesson! High Rep Ashton reacted rather quickly. (maybe an indication that the resignation was not such a surprise?) One hour after the official annoucment of Mubaraks resignation, High Rep Ashton did a live TV interview on the BBC and on Al Jazeera! She must have been the first international politician giving a statement on live TV. As a result most press coverage included Ashton’s remarks, official US statements came only several hours later. Furthermore, two hours after the resignation a press briefing in Brussels was organised and a joint statement of High Rep Ashton, European Counicl President Van Rompuy, Commission President Barroso was issued. It was quite an impressive performance of EU public diplomacy!

As the story in Egypt unfolds it is interesting (and depressing as usual) to watch EU diplomacy in practice. Especially with all the talk about the "one voice in the world" and the reforms of the Lisbon Treaty (EEAS etc.).  Well, "quiet diplomacy" in action, I suppose! So, what happened in the EU institutions so far? High Rep Catherine Ashton gave a statement on Egypt on Thursday (pdf) and on Friday evening (pdf). On Saturday European Council President Van Rompuy also issued a statement (pdf). All statements seemed very moderate and basically called all parties to refrain from violence.  However almost none of this made it into the mainstream media. Having watched the excellent Al Jazeera live stream during the last days I think it is safe to say to most people following the event did not heard of these statements. But why is that? Apart from political and institutional disagreements we could witness a few basic public diplomacy mistakes (This post is NOT  about EU-Egypt relations! Suffice to say that Egypt is in the EU neighbourhood and is included in the ENP. The question whether the EU has a coherent and efficient policy in place is another (and very important) question that I don't want to discuss here): It was obvious on Friday afternoon around 3pm/4pm (Brussels time) what was happening in Egypt. However, no statement of Ashton in the afternoon. The statement was published in the evening - after a statement of Hillary Clinton (at least this is how I remember it).  It would have been crucial to put out a statement before Washington wakes up to the story because as long as the Americans do not react on a story all media outlets would at least consider to report the EU reaction. (Not to mention the difficulty for the US to criticise Mubarak and Obama's failure to mention "democracy" in his speech on Friday - a real opportunity for the EU!) The first crucial reaction is important if one wants to shape the discourse and influence events! The most striking EU problem has been the lack of any video footage. This is a basic PR mistake. Public diplomacy only exists if the public knows about your diplomacy. Especially in the case of the "televised" protests in Egypt it would have been a good opportunity to get Ashton on TV!  Is it really that difficult to organise an exclusive Ashton interview for Al Jazeera?  Or a press conference with Catherine Ashton, let's  say on Friday at 5pm?  Later in the evening Clinton and Obama appeared on TV and the pictures were circulated on all major news outlets... I know these criticisms might be a bit unfair given that the EU's Foreign Affairs Council will take place on Monday 31/1  and the agenda has been changed and Egypt is now included.  However, a joint statement of all 27 EU Member States 3 days after Friday 28/1 and almost a week after 25/1 is just too late. Even if the EU manages at least to agree on one  position - nobody will take notice (I hope I am wrong on this though!) So, the timing needs to be improved. It is difficult to coordinate 27 MfAs but this is the job of Ms Ashton - also on a Friday afternoon or during the weekend! We were promised that the Lisbon Treaty would make everything more efficient - well it is not happening, is it?  And statements are not (yet) policy - here the High Rep can improvise to a certain extent (there are quite a few documents on EU-Egypt relations that can be used for inspiration)! One could come to the conclusion that the lack of foreign policy expertise of Ms Ashton is part of the problem here. She does not seem to have a "feeling" for the situation. So if the EU is serious about being an actor in international politics it needs to react more quickly on major international events! It's the media, stupid! And on Saturday we also witnessed the "worst case scenario" in  EU foreign policy. A joint statement of the UK, France, Germany on Egypt. The "big three": Angela Merkel, David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy took over, issued a statement and it made it into all major news! The statement was published in German, English and French on the respective national websites: "We are deeply concerned about the events that we are witnessing in Egypt. We recognise the moderating role President Mubarak has played over many years in the Middle East. We now urge him to show the same moderation in addressing the current situation in Egypt." “We call on President Mubarak to avoid at all costs the use of violence against unarmed civilians, and on the demonstrators to exercise their rights peacefully. “It is essential that the further political, economic and social reforms President Mubarak has promised are implemented fully and quickly and meet the aspirations of the Egyptian people. “There must be full respect for human rights and democratic freedoms, including freedom of expression and communication, including use of telephones and the internet, and the right of peaceful assembly." “The Egyptian people have legitimate grievances and a longing for a just and better future. We urge President Mubarak to embark on a process of transformation which should be reflected in a broad-based government and in free and fair elections.” So, business as usual. No "common" foreign policy of the EU. The "big three" sideline the EU and dominate the headlines and the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday.  One could of course argue whether "one voice - one policy" or " many voices - one policy" is the better strategy. However, it would be interesting to know whether they actually tried to organise a EU initiative or if the call for "free and fair elections"(arguably, the most radical part of the statement) is really contested among EU member states? Another question is if Ms Ashton knew about this initiative and whether she agreed with it... Update 31/1/2011:  Council Conclusions on Egypt (pdf) ----- Update 11/2/2011: Mubarak resigned - and the EU must have learnt a lesson! High Rep Ashton reacted rather quickly. (maybe an indication that the resignation was not such a surprise?) One hour after the official annoucment of Mubaraks resignation, High Rep Ashton did a live TV interview on the BBC and on Al Jazeera! She must have been the first international politician giving a statement on live TV. As a result most press coverage included Ashton's remarks, official US statements came only several hours later. Furthermore, two hours after the resignation a press briefing in Brussels was organised and a joint statement of High Rep Ashton, European Counicl President Van Rompuy, Commission President Barroso was issued. It was quite an impressive performance of EU public diplomacy!