European Union foreign ministers were set to strike a deal on the setting up of the bloc's new diplomatic service after hours of painstaking negotiations, dpa quoted officials as saying. The EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, met with ministers in Luxembourg, hoping they would endorse her proposals for the External Action Service (EAS). After hours of wrangling, EU diplomats said an agreement was set to be reached. "We are very, very close," one of them said. Ministers still had to decide whether they would express a more prudent "political endorsement" or a full-on "political backing" to Ashton's proposals, the official added. That depended, he explained, on whether they would ask Ashton to submit written guarantees on outstanding issues concerning financing, staffing and command structures within the EAS, or whether they trusted verbal assurances she gave in Luxembourg. Member states' agreement on the EAS would put pressure on the European Parliament, which does not have a formal say on the decision but exercises de facto veto powers on it as it can block accompanying financial and staffing regulations. Italy's foreign minister, Franco Frattini, said Monday's prospective deal would accelerate discussions with EU lawmakers, making it possible to strike a definitive deal by the summer. "The objective would be to have a final decision at the European Parliament's plenary in July, that is the timeline we have in mind," he told reporters.
