Europe’s foreign service: from design to delivery

As Catherine Ashton takes up her task as High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President of the Commission, the European External Action Service (EEAS) is a priority in her in-tray. This Policy Brief by Graham Avery discusses the aims, structure and ‘mission statement’ of the new service. He argues that - to make EU foreign policy more coherent – it must ensure that the ‘double-hatting’ of the Lisbon Treaty is effectively put into practice, that duplication with other parts of the Brussels system is avoided, and that outside Europe the new Union Delegations speak effectively for the EU.

ESO: Background information: EU's new diplomatic corps faces staffing issues http://www.europeansources.info/record/eus-new-diplomatic-corps-faces-staffing-issues/

ESO: Background information: Brussels Quietly Trains a Foreign Service http://www.europeansources.info/record/brussels-quietly-trains-a-foreign-service/

Council of the European Union: Fact Sheet, 2009: The High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / The European External Action Service http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/111301.pdf

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