Negotiating the European External Action Service (EEAS): Analyzing the External Effects of Internal (Dis)Agreement

Abstract:
Analyses of the rising capacity for co-ordination within the Secretariats-General of the European Commission and Council have concentrated on their effects within these respective institutions. This article, in contrast, argues that the presence/absence of co-ordination capacities developed within an institution may have an important bearing also on the relations between institutions (for example, in inter-institutional negotiations). The empirical analysis traces the negotiation process leading up to the creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS), and finds substantial support for the theoretical argument.