The EU's external relations commissioner is today set to address the Scottish parliament on the development of a European foreign policy.

The former Conservative Party chairman, Chris Patten, will become the first ever Brussels chief to speak before MSPs in the Scottish parliament.

Patten, who is responsible for the EU's sometimes tense diplomatic relations with the US, has previously welcomed moves towards "a common foreign and security policy which would be more muscular, more focused and more effective".

It was after the wars in the Balkans that European leaders realised they had to do more than just issue communiques "full of very strong nouns and adjectives and equally weak verbs", Patten said earlier this year.

But he has also indicated that he does not expect a European foreign policy to develop in the years ahead.

"We are not trying to establish a single foreign and security policy. Foreign and security policy goes right to the heart of what it means to be a nation state.

"I believe that, as far ahead as I can foresee, there will be as many foreign ministers and as many foreign ministries as there are member states of the European Union, each with their own preconceptions, each with their own experiences, each with their own slightly different takes on the world," he says.

But his speech comes at a crucial stage in the development of the EU, with the development of a rapid reaction force giving substance to the emergence of a distinct European power bloc.

However, events in the Middle East have once again indicated the EU's failure to punch its weight in international relations.

Despite hundreds of millions of euros spent on funding the Palestinian Authority, the EU has been unable to exert significant influence over the development of regional peace plans.

And Israel has even accused the EU of supporting terrorism through its funding of what the Arial Sharon has called a "terrorist entity".

George W Bush's speech calling for Yasser Arafat to be marginalised has also left the EU standing on the sidelines, presented with a fait accompli. While European leaders have at times put forward various plans for action, there has been no unified, EU-led push for a peace plan.

And earlier American suggestions that the EU, along with Russia, the UN and Arab leaders, would be involved in a peace conference this summer also appear to have been downplayed by the administration.

Patten can expect a warm reception from Scottish parliamentarians.

Presiding Officer Sir David Steel said he was "delighted" to welcome the commissioner to the parliament.

"The purpose of the meeting will be to give MSPs, Consul Generals, academics and other invited guests with an interest in Europe the opportunity to question the commissioner on the issue of an EU-wide single foreign policy," he said.

Patten follows in the footsteps of a varied collection of other prominent political figures, who have also addressed the parliament. These include Irish taoiseach Bertie Ahern, the president of Portugal Dr Jorge Sampaio and the Catalan president Jordi Pujol.