Budgetary and political accountability are crucial to gain the European Parliament’s support in setting up the planned European External Action Service (EAS), the bloc's new diplomatic corps, MEPs told EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on March 23 2010.

They also voiced firm opposition to the idea that the EAS should have a secretary-general, calling instead for "political" deputies to be appointed to stand in for the foreign policy chief - officially titled the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy - when needed, according to a European Parliament media statement.

Most EP political groups backed what is now unofficially called the "Brok/Verhostadt model" for the EAS, as set out in an informal document by the European Parliament's co-rapporteurs, Elmar Brok (EPP, DE) and Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE, BE).

Under this model, the EAS would be an autonomous service linked to the European Commission in administrative, organisational and budgetary terms, while being accountable to the European Parliament in both political and budgetary terms.

During the debate, the two MEPs raised the issues of the secretary-general and which person or persons might stand in for Ashton when needed. They said that "deputies must not be civil servants". "We want a political figure," Brok said.

Ashton said that she "got the message of the political side of representation" and said that it "should not be the pre-Lisbon formula". She has also promised to do her best "to be available" but did not answer MEPs' question as to how she would be represented in her absence.

Regarding the secretary-general, "we don’t know which nationality he will be", she said, responding to speculation that Pierre Vimont, the current ambassador of France to the United States, would occupy the post.

Ashton did not answer MEPs' questions about the timeframe of proposals for the setting up the service.  Bernhard Rapkay (S&D, DE), in particular, asked when an official proposal for a staff statute would be presented.

"There can be no doubt about budgetary accountability of the EAS to Parliament. The EAS and the officials working in it will be subject to the same type of financial control as if they were working in the Commission," Ashton told MEPs.

"The service will fully respect the Community method and it will co-operate with the Commission services as if it was a directorate-general of the Commission," Ashton said.

Verhofstadt insisted that development and neighbourhood policies should be fully integrated inside the EAS "to make it more ambitious" and to "avoid having two distinct and separate administrations".

On development policy, Ashton said "I have made some concrete proposals for the EAS that I believe keep development policy where it belongs - at the heart of the EU's external action". Single geographical desks covering the whole world would be created.

Franziska Brantner (Greens/EFA, DE) asked Ashton to create a strong crisis management and peace-building department. "I don’t really want to set up a conflict prevention department. It is a horizontal issue", she said.

In line with the Brok and Verhofstadt proposals, Ashton confirmed that "most senior heads of delegation could come here to AFET [the EP Foreign Affairs Committee] for an informal exchange of views once they are formally appointed and before they take up office". Moreover, delegations would give back up to official visits by members of Parliament.

Answering a question by Bulgarian socialist MEP Kristian Vigenin as to how she was planning to have "a proper geographical distribution of posts, which is important for new and small Member States", Ashton said she wanted "all member states to be represented but it will take time".