Catherine Ashton

Ashton, in her capacity as High Representative and Vice President under the Commission’s President Barroso pursued a more bureaucratic approach and lent itself to less political oversight from the President and his Commissioners over migration policies developed in 2014. (See Commission Report, The Barroso Commission)

Ashton, in her capacity as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs assumingly chaired every Foreign Affairs Council meeting during her term. (See Council of the EU Report, The Foreign Affairs Council Configuration) While the Council was not officially involved in the ending of Mare Nostrum, some contextual elements suggest its indirect participation since Italy Italy had assumed the Presidency of the Council at this time (See Council of the EU Report, The End of Mare Nostrum).