The former head of the World Trade Organisation, Mr Peter Sutherland, yesterday called for the appointment of a European "foreign secretary" to foster a common EU position in global affairs.
Describing disagreement at the UN over the war on Iraq as a diplomatic catastrophe, he said the only way to develop a single EU foreign policy was by having an institution that tried to put together a common position.
He said an EU foreign affairs commissioner or foreign secretary should play a dual role by being answerable to the European Commission and to EU governments.
The EU was incapable of doing anything in relation to the Iraqi crisis due to its internal divisions, he said.
While it would not always be possible to adopt a common stance, Mr Sutherland noted that the other institutions of the European Commission had been set up long before common positions in other areas were developed.
This was required to develop a more balanced and cohesive foreign policy in the EU, which, in turn, could influence the debate. Mr Sutherland said he was not implying that such an institution would embark on imperialistic adventures.
He said inter-governmentalism in the EU led to a lack of clarity in the debate and an inability on the part of the member states to marshal their strength. With virtually no governments communicating their positions to each other, prime ministers were left scrambling to gate-crash dinners at Downing Street to inform themselves.
Mr Sutherland was Ireland's EU Commissioner in the mid-1980s. He is currently chairman of the oil group BP and at Goldman Sachs, the investment bank. He was addressing a Progressive Democrats' conference on the future of Europe.
He said failure to achieve consensus on Iraq was the greatest diplomatic failure since the end of the second World War.
The situation was serious, he said, because the US and the European states shared the same objectives and values. In addition, the divisions were emerging in the midst of a global economic crisis for which there was no short-term panacea.
Mr Sutherland said he was not blaming the US uniquely for the divisions over Iraq. Referring to the failings of European governments, he said: "Everyone has been sinning in terms of the co-ordination that was required."
The divisions between the US and Europe emerged despite the "remarkably similar" public opinion on both sides of the Atlantic, he said.
Citing opinion polls, he said the position France took reflected the views of the people of Europe. He criticised "Francophobia" in the US and "almost racial" commentaries in some national presses in the run-up to the war.
Mr Sutherland said he was not expressing anti-American views, but said greater balance was required in the global debate. "All great powers make mistakes," he said. The US did not have a monopoly on being right.