THE IMPACT OF THE INSTITUTIONAL INNOVATIONS INTRODUCED BY THE TREATY OF LISBON ON THE EUROPEAN UNION'S EXTERNAL ACTION

The Treaty of Lisbon has brought major innovations in the institutional framework of the EU. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the possible consequences of these institutional innovations on the management and the implementation of the European Union's external action, particularly in the field of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).Treaty of Lisbon, EU’s external action, Common Foreign and Security Policy, European Service of External Action Romania

Information Guide: European External Action Service.

A guide to information sources on the European External Action Service (EEAS), with hyperlinks to further sources of information within European Sources Online and on external websites

THE ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN EXTERNAL ACTION SERVICE IN THE EU’S INSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM

European External Action Service (EEAS) is a new institution of the European Union, whose foundation was laid by the Treaty of Lisbon with the role to support the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in fulfilling his mandate and, also to assist the President of the European Council, European Commission, President and other Commissioners to exercise their powers in international relations. Since the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) is relatively recent, this article tries to highlight the crucial role of the European External Action Service (EEAS) in the European Union's institutional system and its contribution to strengthening the coherence and increasing impact and visibility of European Union action at international level and thus the one of the Member States

EFPU roundtable: ‘The European external action service’

On 15 March 2012 the LSE’s European Foreign Policy Unit hosted the sixth of ten roundtables on ‘EU Foreign Policy after Lisbon’, entitled ‘The European External Action Service’. The panellists were Professor Sophie Vanhoonacker (University of Maastricht), Professor Richard Whitman (University of Kent) and Professor Michael Smith (Loughborough University). The roundtable was chaired by David Spence, Dinam Fellow at the LSE

Introduction: Principles and Practices of EU External Representation.

With this working paper, CLEER aims to offer a better insight into selected legal aspects concerning the European Union’s redefined diplomatic persona. In particular, the working paper will address issues pertaining to the Lisbon Treaty’s organising principles of EU external action, both under EU law and international law, and the growing practice of external representation of the European Union, especially in the context of other international organisations and bodies. Many questions remain unanswered in this respect, for instance: how can we best understand the relationship between the way the EU decides upon international positions and organises its external representation on the one hand, and its influence, performance and/or effectiveness on the other hand? Does the European Union’s formal status as a subject of international law justify an upgraded observer status within international organisations, a seat additional to that of the EU Member States, or should the EU replace them? Does it matter who speaks for the EU, and in what way? How should we square the emergence of the European External Action Service (EEAS), a hybrid organ consisting of EU civil servants and seconded diplomats from the Member States, with the traditionally state-centred body of international diplomatic law? And what can be expected from the High Representative, the EEAS and its vast network of diplomatic representations in third countries and multilateral settings in the pursuit of the Treaty’s external objectives

Intra-institutional coordination and inter-institutional negotiations: The creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS)

Analyses of the rising capacity for coordination 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 coordination capacities developed within an institution may have an important bearing also on the relations between institutions (e.g., 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. --Coordination,European Union,EEAS,inter-institutional negotiations

Now We Are One...A Rough Start for the EEAS

The first year of the European External Action Service (EEAS) has already elicited much comment, both internally and externally. This contribution briefly reviews the nature of this commentary and then suggests some possible short-term ‘wins’ for the Service, as well as some challenges that will require a longer-term perspective. The main shorter-term issue considers the need to create stronger linkages and priorities between existing strategies and to start the difficult process of melding a common mindset within the Service. The longer-term challenges revolve around recruitment, balance and resources. The latter is particularly important in order to enable the delegations to assume their full roles. The barrage of criticism that greeted the EEAS’s first birthday is also a commentary on how critical the role of the Service is to achieving the core goals of the Lisbon Treaty in external relations; namely, to aim towards more coherence, effectiveness and visibility

Ends, Means, and Meaning. Egmont Commentary, 3 October 2011

The EU needs to decide on clear foreign policy priorities if it wants to generate a sense of purpose for the European External Action Service