Tag: EEAS

Ahead of the launch of a study on the added value of EU spending, Bertelsmann Stiftung chairman and chief executive Aart De Geus points at the savings EU member states could achieve if they pooled and distributed resources more efficiently, for example in diplomatic and defence services.

Serbia has rejected a European Union-brokered plan to tackle the ethnic partition of its former province Kosovo, a move that could hurt Belgrade's hopes of starting membership talks with the bloc.

Crunch talks aimed at ending the ethnic partition of Serbia's former Kosovo province broke up without result early this morning (3 April), in a major setback for Serbia's hopes of starting EU membership negotiations this year.

At a time when pressure is coming on the UN to find solutions to the global issues such as Syria and Iran - and to reform of itself - the EU's UN ambassador explains how the EU is playing its part.

Georgia wants the European Union to help it solve its conflict with Moscow over the "occupied territories" of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the country's vice-prime minister, Giorgi Baramidze, told EurActiv in an exclusive interview.

A growing number of international institutions and agreements are attempting to tackle the world's major challenges: economic, environmental or security. What is the EU's role in this emerging world order?

The European Union expressed both criticism and hope for renewed cooperation with Israel at a meeting on Tuesday (22 February) of the EU-Israel Association Council.

The European External Action Service (EEAS) can provide a more coherent, visible and effective EU foreign policy but faces problems such as low morale among personnel, friction with the European Commission and disputes over EU representation in international organisations, writes Graham Avery, senior advisor at the European Policy Centre (EPC).

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has completed the appointments for 28 top officials at the European External Action Service, with only two women appearing on the list, according to a document seen by EurActiv.

The European External Action Service is "one of the most important institutional reforms provided for by the Treaty of Lisbon" and should bring together "fragmented EU structures" to ensure that Europe speaks more often with one voice, writes German Green MEP Franziska Brantner in an exclusive commentary for EurActiv. 

In the presence of a smiling Catherine Ashton, the European Parliament yesterday (20 October) approved by an overwhelming majority the last three legislative texts required to launch the European External Action Service (EEAS) on 1 December 2010, the day of the first anniversary of the Lisbon Treaty.

Felipe González, chairman of the Reflection Group on the Future of Europe, warned yesterday (4 October) that the EU should honour commitments made to Turkey, which ten years ago was given the prospect of European Union membership.

The European External Action Service (EEAS) can be set up only if the European Parliament approves the staff and financial legal base based on the presence of at least 60% "Community personnel" in the new diplomatic corps, German MEP Elmar Brok (European People's Party) told EurActiv in an interview.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton unveiled a list of 28 ambassadors yesterday (15 September) who will be charged with representing the EU's interests abroad. Only twelve were selected from national administrations, while sixteen come from the European Commission.

Poland appears to have changed its policy of unconditional support for Georgia against Russian intimidation, a recent interview given by the country's president suggests. Warsaw has also reportedly abandoned hope of securing the position of EU Ambassador to Tbilisi, the Polish press reports.

EU foreign ministers yesterday (26 July) gave their final approval to the European External Action Service (EEAS), paving the way for the diplomatic corps "to come into being" by December 2010. Attention now shifts to budgetary issues and the battle to assign top positions.

William Hague's instructions to the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, in which the British Tories sit, were decisive in securing a crucial positive vote on the European External Action Service (EEAS), EurActiv has learned.

The European External Action Service (EEAS) certainly does not signify the advent of a new dynamism in the EU's common foreign policy. There are too many differences between the interests of the various countries and the positions of the EU institutions and in the long term, all that remains is the hope that the EEAS will have the effect of a large socialisation structure, writes Stefani Weiss of the Bertelsmann Stiftung in a June publication.

The European Parliament is giving EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton a hard time, as political group leaders yesterday (10 June) delivered a clear message that they disliked her proposals for the European Union's new diplomatic service. They insisted that it must be attached to the European Commission, otherwise the Parliament will veto its financing.

The European External Action Service (EEAS) plans to achieve an inter-institutional balance by filling member states' quotas by 2013, Maroš Šefčovič, European Commission vice-president responsible for inter-institutional relations and administration, told EurActiv in an exclusive interview.

EU diplomats have dismissed rumours that EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton might step down from her post under pressure from member states and especially her native UK, where elections are scheduled for Thursday (6 May).

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has presented a revised blueprint for the European External Action Service (EEAS) which has been stripped off previous plans for a detailed organisational chart, EurActiv has learned.

Quality is more important than speed in setting up the European External Action Service (EEAS), leading MEPs said on Tuesday (23 March), signalling that political thinking in Brussels had evolved and that there was no rush to take decisions before the UK elections.

Introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, the European External Action Service (EEAS) is intended to give the European Union a greater role in foreign policy. It is now operational, though its scope and competences have been the subject of fierce debate among EU countries.