“Reaches Out?”

EU reaches out for new powers at United Nations

In an act of arrogant reverse-suzerainty the EU member states have unilaterally declared to make the EU a speaking member of the UN. This brings their "handicap" as an entity to 28 times that of China or India, with only half of the population of each of them, not to mention their over-representation on the security council.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy will in future be able to address the UN chamber no differently from US President Barack Obama or Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmedinejad under draft reforms agreed by member states.

But that’s not all, folks!

There will also be additional seats put in for the EU's foreign policy chief, High Representative Catherine Ashton and her officials.

This, for an entity that has no legitimate sovereign power if the member states are to maintain their seats, numbers, delegates, etal.

An EU diplomat said the idea behind the changes is to boost the profile of the EU as an entity in itself at the international level.

This, from the world’s least plausible “partner in security”n which would not need to be “boosted” were it not for their outright irrelevance.

The new rights flow from changes established by the EU's Lisbon Treaty

Which, at last reading, was not signed by anyone from whom recognition would be found with, or in any other way form a legally legitimate graduation of the sovereignty of the member states. It is simply an exercise in having it both ways, and be counted twice, with an expectation that the rest for the world will play dress-up for them, and officially declare them “big and powerful” with no basis in reality.

Earn your chops first? Never.