The European Parliament: A Major Player in the Negotiations on the Creation of the European External Action Service

The European External Action Service (EEAS) is one of the most important innovations of the Treaty of Lisbon. One of the objectives it will pursue will be to strengthen the role of the EU on the international scene. This new diplomatic service will be in charge of formulating and executing the EU’s common foreign policy and representing the EU in the world. Its staff will be drawn from the Commission and Council and from Member States. The European Parliament, whose role in the decision-making process has been strengthened by the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, has been a major player in the negotiations between the Council and the Commission on the creation and configuration of the EEAS. The need for Parliament’s approval of the EEAS’s budget and staff regulations forcibly turned the EP consultation process into a de facto co-decision process in which the EP has been successful in securing many of its recommendations regarding the organisation and functioning of the EEAS.