Under the Lisbon Treaty, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs is also a Vice-President of the Commission. Some MEPs were concerned about how this double-hatted job would work, but Ms Ashton saw the combination of roles as "an asset".

"Full scrutiny of Parliament" over European diplomatic service

In her opening statement, she told MEPs the European External Action Service (EEAS) "will be a top priority and not just a bureaucratic exercise", adding that it was a "once in a generation opportunity to build something that brings together all the elements of our engagement – political, economic and military – to implement one coherent strategy" in foreign policy.

Questioned by Elmar Brok (EPP, DE), Parliament's rapporteur on the EEAS, as to the budgetary role Parliament would play, the High Representative-designate said the new body "would be subject to full scrutiny by Parliament".  She was looking forward to working with Parliament "throughout the process", "so that I can present a proposal to allow a decision by the Council in April".

However, "I remain unconvinced of the idea of hearings for top posts because we are expanding something that already exists", was her response to questions by Kristian Vigenin (S&D, BG) and Annemie Neyts (ALDE, BE).

Mr Brok and Ria Oomen Ruijten (EPP, NL) asked her about "the difficulty of pursuing a coherent foreign policy with the overlap between the Commission and the Council". Lady Ashton, however, said the overlapping nature of the post was an "asset". When reporting to Parliament, she would do it as a "Commissioner" but would add a Council perspective.

Coordination between Commissioners in charge of international affairs

Asked how she would establish her leadership over foreign affairs with the other Commissioners in charge of international affairs, she said that the Treaty "is very clear" about responsibilities and that "I take my lead from the Treaty". She reminded MEPs that she would chair the General Affairs and External Relations Council due to meet Monday 25 January.

On the division between strategy and implementation of policies implied by the EEAS, Catherine Ashton said to Franziska Brantner (Greens/EFA, DE) that she would "work with a cluster of Commissioners dividing the work among us and putting the emphasis on implementation such as on development for example". But she added that "strategy falls within my remit".

Afghanistan, Middle-East, Iran

"Afghanistan and Pakistan, Iran, the Middle East, Somalia and Yemen are clearly among some of the top priorities", she said in her opening statement, adding that she intended "to travel to Washington soon, to discuss with Hillary Clinton and other top US officials how we can pull together our strategies and actions on the global issues".

Jean-Luc Mélenchon (GUE/NGL, FR) and Norica Nicolai (ALDE, RO) asked her about the EU's strategy and military presence in Afghanistan to which she replied "we will come back to that at the London conference" of 28 January. She added that the EU needs to "provide concrete results about what we do to the citizens of Afghanistan".

On the Middle East, she said "I will be meeting Senator Mitchell and Tony Blair tomorrow and I intend to travel to the region as soon as possible". However, she declined a suggestion by Bastiaan Belder (EFD, NL) to organise an EU-Israel summit in the near future.

Asked by Véronique de Keyser (S&D, BE) what she would do with the Council conclusions on East Jerusalem, Baroness Ashton said "the next step in the region is to go where we think we can do more and pull together appropriate solutions".

Describing her initiatives to revitalise the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), she told Dominique Baudis (EPP, FR) and Vincent Peillon (S&D, FR) "We also need to take forward the work started under the UfM, which lived through a difficult time with the blockade of Arab nations in 2009. We will also have to see how the co- presidency of the UfM can be run with the end of the French presidency approaching".

On Iran, she said it was "regrettable that Tehran did not accept the agreement under the IAEA". She also "deplored all the recent human rights violations", in her reply to a question by Barry Madlener (NA, NL).

Energy and EU-Russia relations

"We need to have a strong relationship with Russia", she told Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (EPP, PL). On energy, she advocated "diversification of sources of supply" as well as a strategy to avoid relying on energy coming solely from Russia. She told MEPs she had on her "a map of the pipelines".

Human rights

Asked by Heidi Hautala (Greens/EFA, FI), chair of the EP Subcommittee on Human Rights, about her willingness to meet human rights defenders in public when travelling in her job, she replied "my interest is in outcomes".  More specifically, she said, "this does not mean I would turn away from human rights, although sometimes talking to people without full publicity can be more effective".

To concerns voiced by Richard Howitt (PES, UK) about the need to improve the EU's record in this field, Baroness Ashton said "the Commission's delegations have a critical role to play here although human rights sometime require different approaches".

Relationship with NATO

Lady Ashton told Arnaud Danjean (EPP, FR), chair of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, that the European Defence Agency should be developed, as should research and development across the Member States. She was also in favour of "working pragmatically for a very effective EU NATO partnership". Mr Danjean had asked about the fact that achievements in ESDP were "a bit up and down" compared to the policy's ambitions.

Past role in CND

Charles Tannock (ECR, UK) and David Campbell Bannerman (EFD, UK) referred to Catherine Ashton’s past role as treasurer of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in the early 1980s. Asked to say whether she was still in favour of unilateral nuclear disarmament, she said what was relevant in the 70s was not relevant today.

Background

Under the Lisbon Treaty, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy will also be a Vice-President of the European Commission. She will be in charge of conducting the Union's common foreign and security policy, supported by the new European External Action Service. She will chair meetings of EU ministers in the Foreign Affairs Council.