Israel Matzav

Finland slams EU foreign policy leaks

What this has to do with Israel will soon become readily apparent....

Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency since 1 July, has accused member states of leaking important foreign policy documents to countries outside the EU, including Israel.

"For a long time it has been known that, within an hour after being distributed to the member states, all EU documents concerning the Middle East have already reached Tel Aviv, and probably Washington and Moscow," Mr Tuomioja wrote in a comment in Hufvudstadsbladet, the biggest Swedish language daily in Finland.

"The problem with the EU foreign policy is not the lack of openness, but its false transparency" reads the exceptionally outspoken piece titled: "False transparency".

He went on to write that the leaks have a negative effect on the EU's foreign policy capabilities and encourage member states to act outside the EU's formal decision-making structure.

"This is problematic for the Union as a whole, but particularly harmful to the smaller member states", he wrote.

I guess that Mr. Tuomioja is upset that Germany and England rejected the EU call for an immediate cease fire. I wonder if Fwance is coordinating its UN Security Council position with the EU.... Can't have any member states thinking for themselves now, can we?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:41 PM