European Diplomatic Service: Putting Europe First

Brussels has often been a byword for bureaucracy, now, keen to burnish its image abroad, it is soon to be known as a force for diplomacy. So should Europe's national diplomatic services be on their guard, or can they gain from the new arrangements?

• Primary Source

European Voice: Topics: European External Action Service http://topics.europeanvoice.com/topic/organisation/European+External+Action+Service/organisation/European+Union

European Voice, 25.2.10: Who controls foreign affairs? http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/who-controls-foreign-affairs-/67241.aspx

ESO: Background information: Europe's foreign service: from design to delivery http://www.europeansources.info/record/europes-foreign-service-from-design-to-delivery/

ESO: Background information: EU fails to agree accord on foreign policy http://www.europeansources.info/record/eu-fails-to-agree-accord-on-foreign-policy/

European Voice, Vol.17, No.7, 18.2.10: Commission floats terms of recruitment for EEAS http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/commission-floats-terms-of-recruitment-for-eeas/67166.aspx

Council of the European Union: Policies: Council Configurations: Foreign Affairs: High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy http://www.consilium.europa.eu/policies/fac/high-representative-of-the-union-for-foreign-affairs-and-security-policy?lang=en

PressEurope, 26.2.10: The plot against Lady Ashton http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/199701-plot-against-lady-ashton

Spiegel Online International, 2.3.10: Berlin Concerned about British Dominance http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,681291,00.html

---