Cathy Ashton in traditional 'Headless Chicken' routine

And she is the best paid female politician in the world... God help us

Ashton fires a shot across Hammond's bows

Though I doubt he noticed.


The Defence Minister should be aware that he, and the UK are being not so subtly undermined across the world. This is Cathy Ashton's statement today on her trip to India,

I was saying to the defence minister that I chair the meetings of the 27, soon to be 28, defence ministers, and that’s a real opportunity as we think about issues like pooling and sharing, bringing together our knowledge and our assets and our ability to operate so that we have more to offer India. And India, in its strategic role with countries - particularly perhaps with Brazil and South Africa, its role in the United Nations - has much to offer us too. So for me, there is good progress, but there is much more that we can do.

The inference is pretty clear. Why bother with any EU member state, I am the one in control here.

Mr Hague, Mr Hammond are you listening?

Sticks in the craw

Cathy Ashton has put this statement out about the death of Vaclav Havel,

“It was with great sadness that I learnt today of the death of Václav Havel. He was a man of immense courage, who fought for freedom and democracy in the most difficult circumstances.
Václav Havel was one of the great Europeans of his generation, who went on to become an inspirational leader of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. His name will forever be synonymous with the successful struggle for freedom in Central and Eastern Europe and the reunification of Europe.
Václav Havel's commitment to freedom was unwavering, despite great personal cost. His involvement with the Charter 77 movement was an inspiration to all those fighting for democracy
around the world.
Yet despite all his achievements, Václav Havel remained a true man of the people, a modest man whose unique sense of humour always shone through. His legacy will live on through his writing, but most of all through his extraordinary life story, which will inspire us all long into the future.I send my sincere condolences to his family and friends and the Czech people. “

Can I just remind people that in 1977, when Havel was publishing Charter 77, that great statement of the Freedom of Concience, Cathy started work at CND.

That in 1982 while he was midway through a 4 year gaol term , she was the Treasurer of that organisation.

An organisation that very publically backed the Comecon countries and would have ensured that people like Havel would be crushed for good.

She fills me with contempt.

Thank God she and her cohorts lost then, thank God that she and her cohorts will lose again.

Shame on her, if she only recognised that word.

Millions more in EU propaganda

There is a short piece in the Sunday Times (paywall)

Ashton’s £8m PR bonanza
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Baroness Ashton, 54, is to spend £8.5m on outside public relations consultants to try to raise the public profile of her new Brussels diplomatic service.
Her office has issued a tender for agencies to provide media handling and organise VIP trips, dinners and cocktail receptions.
Critics of Ashton, whose pay package is worth £328,000 a year, question why she needs an outside agency when the European commission, of which she is vice-president, employs 1,400 communications staff. 

Which deserves a little more explanation. Here is the tender.

If you look at the tender document itself there a number of points that have been highlighted. Now I have no idea why they are highlighted (because they are important? Because they needed editing? Who knows)
They include,

networking (EUVP) including support to networking activities and the
preparation of communication tools tailored for stakeholders,

the EUVP is the visitors program. A system by which third parties are invited to gawp at the wonders of the EU.

The European Union Visitors Programme (EUVP) invites young, promising leaders from countries outside the European Union on an individually tailored visit to Europe to gain a first-hand appreciation of the EU's goals, policies and people. It also serves to increase mutual understanding between professionals from non-EU countries and their EU counterparts. The unique tailoring of each programme to the participants' individual requests makes it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity not to be missed.
The EUVP is jointly- sponsored and administered by the European Parliament and the European Commission. An EUVP visit consists of an individual 5- to 8-day programme of meetings with EU officials at the EU institutions in Brussels, Strasbourg and/or Luxembourg. The programme of meetings is arranged on the basis of the areas of interest expressed by the visitor so that it can be of maximum benefit. All individually tailored programmes are coordinated and arranged by the EUVP Secretariat. Travel and per diem costs are covered by the EUVP.

You get the idea.
Here's another highlight,

8. The contractor may be required to draft, edit, correct and/or translate and
disseminate texts for media relations purposes such as press releases, Opeds,
interviews, by-lines etc.

OpEds eh? The EU needs to get external expertise to write OpEds? They have over a thousand 'communications' staff as it is. Then you have the thousands of subject experts, and yet they need to buy in OpEd writing skills. Cripes, things must be tough in the Justus Lupsis.

But that is only the highlighted section, this is what is required in general,

In particular, the contractor will be required to provide the following services :
1. Assistance to the conceptualization and preparation of press material;
2. Assistance to the preparation and coverage of press events and specific media
actions
3. Assistance to the conceptualisation and implementation of media strategies
4. Assistance to the promotion, dissemination, monitoring and evaluation of media
activities, tools, actions and press information material
5. Organising, press trips and briefings on specific subjects or projects aimed at the
generalist and specialised press plus audiovisual media; in particular:
a. organization of press visits to the EU institutions for journalists from third
countries;
b. organization of information briefings in Brussels or any other EU member
state targeting EU based journalists focusing on specific subjects of
relevance in the field of external relations;
c. organization of information briefings for EU based journalists comprising
both a visit to Brussels and a field trip to a third country ;
d. organization of press trips to enhance the visibility of EU’s external action
in a particular mission (i.e.: Afghanistan, Somalia,) providing a better
understanding of the EU’s position in a given country/region.
For press trips and briefings described above, the services covered would include in
particular:

o Advice on a media programme,
o Advice on theme / programme preparation
o Selection of course leader
o Contact/selection of invited participants
o Invitations/follow-up of invitations
o Travel and accommodation
o General administrative support (logistics)
o On-site assistance
o Assist smooth running / trouble-shooting
o Preparation and production of seminar documents
o Follow-up / evaluation / report
o Interpretation
6. The creation, compilation and management of a pool of media contacts by areas
of interest (national, topical etc)

Another section highlighted is this,

3. Production of audiovisual material and/or b-roll on short notice to cover special
events, Delegation’s activities and /or high senior official activities in the subject
field of this invitation to tender to meet specific demands for news, sound and
images;

Which in my language is fire fighting. It's in the filed of media response to,
"Oh shit we've screwed up... Help"

What is astonishing to me is that this is being done openly and publically and nobody bats an eyelid. Going back to that quote from the Sunday Times. "Critics of Ashton". Do you want to know who they are?

Marta Andreasen and me.

We will cut (non-EU) migration.. except we cannot

It isn't much of a claim, but, due to our membership of the European Union and the Corpus Juris it is the best that our benighted government can do. But it cannot even do that.

Today after a meeting in Brussels between Barosso, van Rompuy and the President of the Ukraine is Van Rumpy's statement,

I am very pleased that we can announce today an Action Plan for Ukraine towards the establishment of a visa free regime for short stay travel.

This of course fiollows hard on the heels of the EU's decision about immigration from India, also, famously not part of the European Union.

In the end it may be the case that Cameron and his government might be able to control immigration from the Islew of Man, and maybe at a push the Channel islands, but that is about it.

In the same speech, Van R also makes it clear that those clean living officials in the Ukraine will also have access to any amount of taxpayer funded EU project finance,

We have also been able to sign a Protocol to the current Partnership and Cooperation reement permitting Ukraine access to EU programmes. In practice this will allow Ukraine to benefit from EU programmes in areas such as business and entrepreneurship, information and ommunication
technology and energy.

Because they can be trusted to use our money wisely. Common William, isn't this Foriegn Affairs? Shouldn't you be saying something, or has the Cathy got your tongue?

National Embassies left with "a lot of consular work" says Ashton

The ongoing drip drip of bad (budgetary) news coming out of the European Diplomatic Corps has forced a petulant reaction from Cathy Ashton's press team.

Complaining about reports about fleets of arnmoured cars will be provided for her Ambassadors around the world.

"They will be allocated on the basis of the security and terrorist threat. In any case, Baroness Ashton believes it is impossible to put a price on safety."

Eh? Impossible to put a price on safety? That Madam is your job. You have a budget and you spend it after weighing up risks.

The only real safety is not to have been born. Every politician with any involvement in any form of public security has to put a price on safety every day of every week.

Providing well over 100 top of the range armoured limosines for EU diplomats is weighing up your own importance as a subject far higher than bugetary discipline. Which given it is not your money you transparently care little about.

It is instructive however to see what you percieve as the relative roles pof EU and national diplomats, To you the EU's role is,

"humanitarian aid, development and trade issues" and to "drive forward EU foreign policy".

The role of National Embassies however should be confined to,

"a lot of consular work"

Lets have a look at what EU Foriegn policy is and what you see as your remit,

Arctic Region
Civilian Crisis Management
Common Foreign & Security Policy (CFSP)
Instrument for Stability (IfS)
Conflict Diamonds (Blood Diamonds - The EU; the Kimberley Process)
Drugs
Eastern Partnership
Environment - Green Diplomacy
EU Election Assistance; Observation
Euro-Mediterranean Partnership
European Neighbourhood Policy
Enlargement
Black Sea Synergy
External Energy Policy
Human rights; Democratisation
Information on grantsAll available translations.
Landmine Actions
Middle East Peace Process
Migration
Northern Dimension
Public Consultations
Uprooted People
EU Centres
Education

So not a lot left for the Nations there is there?

As Marta Andreasen points out,

""The fragrant (sic)waste of taxpayers' money on the EU diplomatic service is appalling. Why should people have to pay such exorbitant amounts of cash to an organisation whose purpose is to supplant member state diplomatic services?


"That the biggest EU diplomatic posting will be to Turkey with 132 staff, all working feverishly for this country's accession, while the vast majority of European peoples oppose Turkish entry, shows that this EU diplomatic service is there to serve the views of the EU political elites and not the people of Europe.

"The sooner we stop footing the bill for this EU carry-on the better.

"The vanity of the EAS knows no limits. They are playing at being James Bond with these armoured limos.

"British embassies are closed and downgraded, and our international voice is being drowned out by career eurocrats in comfort postings. Worse still this is all done with the connivance of the foreign office".

I like the idea of 'fragrant waste' - the sweet smell of excess perchance?

What is good for the Goose

Q. What has Afghanistan got that the UK doesn't?
A) The ability to set its own trade rules.

Our Foriegn Minister Cathy Ashton is in the land of the empowered Burka wearer, Afghanistan where she is attending some conference.

The conference, entitled, Kabul International Conference on Afghanistan , is as she says specifically about,

Afghan sovereignty and leadership

Which is amusing as Afghan soverignty is something good and to be encouraged. Indeed one highlight of the growth of Afganistan's move towards a better future is that it has recently signed a trade agreement with Pakistan,

I want to congratulate you for the recent signing of the Trade and Transit Agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan which is a significant step towards boosting regional cooperation and I extend my congratulations to both sides for making this happen.

All this is splendid, it is just a shame that Afghanistan cannot do the same with the UK, because of course the UK doesn't have the soveriegnty to sign trade agreements, that is done for us by the EU.