Strategy, not bureaucracy: what really matters in the design of the European External Action Service

Abstract

"At the end of April 2010, Lady Ashton put forward her suggestion for the design of the European External Action Service (EEAS). From the very beginning, her job was to square the circle. The current debate about the design and responsibilities of the new European diplomatic service follows the bureaucratic logic devoid of strategic ambition. At the same time exist the chance and necessity of succeeding in this visionary achievement. The European Union and its member states now have the opportunity to act on their worldwide foreign policy interests in a much more powerful way. The EU member states must therefore start the debate on the EEAS from scratch and quickly unite around the new service. Otherwise they run the risk of sinking further into the backwaters of international policy." (author's abstract)