Recently the European Policy Centre organised an interesting event on reviewing
the European External Action Service (EEAS). One of the panelists was David O'Sullivan, Chief Operating
Officer of the EEAS, involved with the development of the EEAS from the start
in 2011. He said: “these days prime ministers can text each other; therefore
the role of the ministries and ambassadors has diminished. That's the new
reality”. It is fascinating to see how the public figures in national foreign
policy have shifted from the foreign ministers and their ministries to the
heads of states.
Previously I posted on the lack of visibility of the EEAS, and the need
to find a balance to carry out one 'European' foreign policy, while still
keeping the traditional national foreign policy channels running. The latter
still plays a big part in the practical challenges the EEAS faces and was
touched upon by O'Sullivan as well when he emphasized that “the EEAS [isn't]
supposed to replace the national foreign policies, but to complement them.”
A particularly interesting development over the last year is the role
that the crisis played in strengthening the EEAS and in particular the buy-in
they need from the Member States. The EEAS must demonstrate added value. The
crisis may help in this regard. The colocation of embassies and pooling
resources has become not just fashionable, but a necessity”, O'Sullivan pointed
out.
In short, the EEAS is doing well – it's doing better each day in fact,
but they still have a long way to go.
Dan LUCA / Brussels