mr president the lisbon treaty is now a legal reality in the international order even if it lacks popular democratic legitimacy because most eu citizens including britain's were denied a vote in a referendum
nevertheless the ecr group and british conservatives are committed to positive engagement and to moving on within the new institutional framework
we would like to see a similar approach from the member states and the commission
it is deeply ironic in my view that the first major institutional development under lisbon namely the creation of the european external action service threatens to push the eu back towards the very introspection and bickering that lisbon was supposed to have eradicated
undoubtedly the creation of the eas must be subject to debate and consensus about who does what and does it best but the cfsp foreign policy elements must remain firmly within the council
but we also need strong leadership in theory enabled by the lisbon treaty to forge a lasting vision for europe's diplomacy in the world
we look to you high representative ashton to seize the initiative and to assert the authority and leadership provided to you by the treaty to knock heads together if necessary and to chart the way forward
we will support you in your efforts if you can show that you are up to the daunting challenge
the eu has had many years to think about this service so this muddling through and hesitation that we currently see does no credit to the eu's ambitions to play a global role in foreign policy through the cfsp
there are more general points
the albertini report which i support strongly sets out the union's foreign policy priorities and rightly endorses the eu membership aspirations for the western balkan countries particularly croatia macedonia and montenegro for which i am rapporteur
but it also mentions the transatlantic alliance and nato which we believe are the cornerstones of the eu's foreign security policy
it rightly emphasises the eu's responsibility for resolving the frozen conflicts particularly in transnistria and nagorno-karabakh in our immediate neighbourhood and good relations with ukraine
but finally taiwan is also mentioned as an important partner for the eu and it should also be enabled to participate actively and fully in international organisations according to the eu's policy and the one china policy
