Valentina Pop EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The Lisbon Treaty will reduce by one the number of EU representatives on the international stage but will still not create the famous "one telephone number for Europe," a senior US official has said.
The EU will continue to be represented by a plethora of high-level officials once the Lisbon Treaty comes into force on 1 December, despite the novelties advertised as helping Europe to "speak with one voice."
As foreign policy issues will still require unanimity among member states to formulate a common position, the US will still work with European countries bilaterally, Richard Morningstar, a special advisor on energy to US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said Wednesday (18 November) at a briefing organised by the European Policy Center, a Brussels think-tank.
Asked about the famous quote attributed – some say wrongly – to former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger: "Whom do I call when I want to call Europe?" Mr Morningtsar wondered if Mr Kissinger "today wishes he hadn't made that statement."
The complete article is available here:
http://euobserver.com/9/29010 