UPGRADING THE EU'S ROLE AS GLOBAL ACTOR. Institutions, Law and the Restructuring of European Diplomacy
UPGRADING THE EU'S ROLE AS GLOBAL ACTOR. Institutions, Law and the Restructuring of European Diplomacy

Author(s): Michael Emerson, Rosa Balfour, Tim Corthaut, Jan Wouters, Piotr Maciej Kaczyński, Thomas Renard
Subject(s): International relations/trade, EU-Approach / EU-Accession / EU-Development
Published by: CEPS Centre for European Policy Studies
Keywords: Lisbon Treaty; EEAS; European Diplomacy; OECD; UNHCR; IEA; OSCE; EEA;
Summary/Abstract: At the time of writing this report, the European External Action Service (EEAS) is in the course of being set up. Its formal start date was 1 December 2010, while its effective start date is understood to be 1 January 2011. At the same time there are intricate ongoing negotiations on both the budget and staffing of the EEAS and on the precise forms of external representation of the EU in international organisations and negotiations. Unfortunately, there are continued inter-institutional disagreements over the details here, alongside some signs of back-tracking by member states over an effective implementation of the Lisbon Treaty in the external domain. Further, questions related to the budget and staffing seem likely to become issues in the next multi-annual budget framework after 2013, which will begin to be negotiated in 2011. All this is going to further divert energies from addressing the substantive issues for EU foreign policy. While we regret these continuing arguments and uncertainties, the present contribution provides at least a reference, as an independent view of how the Lisbon Treaty might be implemented and dynamically followed through, and against which actual developments can be monitored.

• Details
• Contents