Piotr Maciej Kaczynski is Research Fellow at the Center of European Policy Studies (CEPS) in Brussels. In this interview, he discusses the European Union’s plans for its own diplomatic service, known as the European External Action Service, or EEAS.
EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso have drawn up a plan for the EEAS after the Lisbon Treaty on the future of the union entered into force last December. That plan, seen widely as a compromise between member states, has been approved by the EU member states and is set to be approved by the Council. Enacting this plan, which seeks to give the EU a more solid footing in the global arena, will be the challenge for Ashton’s team during the second half of 2010.
