German and Pole join roll-call of Ashton lieutenants

German EU Council official Helga Schmid and Polish European Parliament staffer Maciej Popowski are to become deputy secretary generals in the European External Action Service (EEAS).

EEAS chief Catherine Ashton made the announcement in an emailed statement to press in Brussels on Friday (29 October), saying: “Their experience and expertise will help us to build the External Action Service that Europe can be proud of.”

Ms Schmid, a 49-year-old career German diplomat who worked alongside the eminent former foreign minister Joschka Fischer in 1998 and who has worked as the main expert on former Soviet counties in the EU Council since 2005 is to become the political affairs lieutenant.

Mr Popowski, 46, a former Polish diplomat who joined the European Commission in 2008 before switching to work as head of cabinet of European Parliament president Jerzy Buzek in 2009 is to look after inter-institutional affairs.

Both jobs are in the €14,700 to €18,000 a month pay scale and involve “extensive travel.”

Ms Schmid will be responsible for formulating EU foreign policy alongside Ms Ashton, including on multilateral issues such as G8 and G20 summits. Mr Popowski will help co-ordinate the work of the EEAS crisis-management department and its geographic directorates, as well as EEAS co-operation with the European Commission and its so-called Echo humanitarian aid wing.

Ms Ashton earlier this week named French diplomat Pierre Vimont as EEAS secretary general and Irishman David O’Sullivan as budgets and personnel chief.