Ursula Von der Leyen shuns EU rules as diplomats rage: 'She's behaving like a queen!'
Ursula Von der Leyen shuns EU rules as diplomats rage: 'She's behaving like a queen!'
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The EU Commission leader has sparked outrage among top diplomats after repeatedly shunning EU rules.
Ursula von der Leyen has sparked the ire of her colleagues after making an unscheduled visit to Israel but critics have been taking up issue with her leadership for months owing to a number of occasions in which the EU’s top authority overstepped her job description.
Government leaders inside the bloc feel left out of key decision-making and claim VDL is not entitled to represent EU views on foreign policy.
WATCH NOW: VDL rushed to shelter during Israel visit
Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told journalists in Beijing that foreign policy is decided by the bloc’s members at major summits rather than by the Commission leader herself.
“The official position of the European Union with any foreign policy [issue] is being fixed — I repeat — by the guidelines.”
He added that he chairs the summits himself in which the bloc’s 27 member states discuss foreign policy.
One EU diplomat told Politico that VDL “has increasingly been behaving like a queen”.
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Josep Borrell said foreign policy is decided by the bloc’s members at major summits rather than by the Commission leader herself
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Speaking at the World Food Forum in Rome, Irish President Michael D Higgins, said VDL did “not speak for Ireland and she wasn’t speaking for the opinions that they hold”.
“I don't know where the source of those decisions was,” he said.
“I don't know where the legitimation for it was and I don't know where the authority for it is and I don't think it was helpful.
“It may not have been meant to have malevolent consequences but certainly we need a better performance in relation to European Union diplomacy and practice.
“One has to bear in mind how important it is to retain and insist on the veracity and the cogency of international law.”
When pressed over the Tunisia deal and the EU Commission leader overstepping her bounds, Michel said he 'understood the frustration of the Member States'
PAAnother example of the Commission leader overstepping her role came just weeks ago after she negotiated a €1billion (£870million) deal with Tunisia to curb migration.
The deal sparked an internal row with EU Council President Charles Michel who claimed EU states had been excluded from the Tunisia agreement and VDL had undermined the EU’s ability to execute the deal effectively.
When asked whether von der Leyen has a different understanding of the distribution of roles, Michel told Der Spiegel that the division of labour works well “most of the time”.
When pressed over the Tunisia deal and the EU Commission leader overstepping her bounds, Michel said he “understood the frustration of the Member States”.
“The EU is based on treaties and it would be wise to stick to them.
“This is the only way we can ensure that we have a clear mandate - and that those who should ultimately decide, namely the member states, are involved.
“This applies not only to the agreement with Tunisia, but also to all other future agreements of this kind.
“It is not for nothing that the European Court of Justice has repeatedly stated what the division of labour in the EU looks like.
“Migration requires a holistic, joint approach that also includes viable legal channels.
“We must overcome them together and find the right balance between solidarity and opportunity.”