HR/VP to VP/HR? the next generation

With the formal entry into office of the new European Commission chaired by Jean-Claude Juncker, a new organisation of the college and its services, as well as a new modus operandi across all EU services will be put to test. This applies to the Commission as a whole – to the extent that it will probably shape its entire mandate and future legacy.

But it will be particularly relevant for the area of foreign policy and external action, in view of the foreseeable implications – and possibly the unintended consequences – of the new setup for the role of the multi-hatted high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice-president (HR/VP). Five years after Catherine Ashton took up the newly created function of HR/VP, Federica Mogherini is taking over in a significantly different institutional landscape.

Brief by Sabina Lange

• Primary Source

EU: EEAS: About: The post of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy http://eeas.europa.eu/high-representative-about/index_en.htm

European Commission: The Commissioners: Federica Mogherini http://ec.europa.eu/commission/2014-2019/mogherini_en

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