France and Germany are considering proposals for a radical reform of the EU’s 15-year-old diplomatic service, in an attempt to improve the bloc’s response to geopolitical crises.
Paris, Berlin and other capitals are considering options that include stripping the powers of the bloc’s chief diplomat, Kaja Callas, and the European External Action Service (EEAS), whose annual budget is 1 billion euros, and returning them to the European Commission and member states, according to five senior officials familiar with the talks, writes the British Financial Times.
“It is clear that (the EEAS) is not working as it should in today’s world. It is dysfunctional,” one of the officials said.
The problem is of a structural nature and therefore the structure must be rebuilt.”
In recent years, the EU has been rocked by the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the whims of US President Donald Trump and the increasing use of tariffs, economic coercion and energy as foreign policy instruments, with many questioning whether the EEAS is up to the task of coordinating effective responses.
The proposal, which would reverse the aims of the 16-year-old decision to establish the EEAS as an autonomous service, is one of several options outlined in an assessment by the French government that has been shared with other member states.
One of the ideas put forward by Paris is to limit the autonomy of the chief diplomat — a post that currently has a dual role and answers to both member states and the Commission — and weaken her control over the network of more than 140 delegations that the EEAS manages in countries around the world.
“The capitals are not satisfied and want an effective way for us to act as one from the outside,” said another official.
“There is a real risk that (the EEAS) will be torn apart.”
Proponents of the restructuring of the diplomatic service believe that it is feasible without changing the EU treaty, which stipulates that the EEAS should “assist” the chief diplomat under conditions agreed by the member states, which date back to 2010. Any change to those conditions would require the unanimous support of all 27 EU member states.
Several countries have argued in private discussions that there is too much overlap and a lack of coordination between the EEAS, national foreign ministries and Commission and Council directorates in charge of external relations, officials said, according to the Financial Times.
Those concerns are further reinforced by the impression that Callas is expressing his own views on issues such as EU-China relations, as well as making proposals that have not yet been approved by the capitals.
At the same time, the EEAS and the Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, are fighting for primacy over foreign and security policy issues.
Von der Leyen — a former German defense minister — expanded her role beyond traditional frameworks by operating a so-called “geopolitical commission,” appointing the bloc’s first defense commissioner and regularly taking a leading role in the EU’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
It has also considered setting up an intelligence-sharing unit similar to the one already in place within the EEAS — an idea opposed by Callas.
The three officials said that the EEAS reform could also be affected by ongoing talks on the bloc’s next joint budget, in which many member states are demanding savings and simplified procedures in Brussels.
Shifting EEAS powers to directorates within the Commission and Council could save money by cutting jobs, officials said. Drawing up sanctions lists and proposals for military missions, for example, could be transferred to the Council, while day-to-day diplomacy would be overseen by the Commission.
Ideas on how to reshape the EU’s external service are also being taken into account when drafting a new security strategy, due to be published by the Commission this summer, two officials said.
The French assessment of possible solutions, which is preliminary, is being discussed bilaterally at a high level between EU governments and is one of several options being put forward on the future of the EEAS, officials said. Paris made it clear that all options have pros and cons.
The Elysée Palace declined to comment.
Representative Callas told the FT that she was “fully focused on carrying out her mandate”, adding: “An important part of that is further strengthening both the EEAS and the Commission in the implementation of treaties in the field of external action and the common foreign and security policy.”
“EU foreign policy is strong when EU member states are united,” the representative added.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs referred to the statements of Minister Jean-Noel Barreau from March, that the EU needs a stronger diplomatic service that “works in close coordination with the member states and ensures that the special competences of each institution are respected, especially in the future European security strategy.”
Asked by the FT about the proposals, one German official said: “In a changing world, it is clear that we need a stronger EU and a stronger foreign policy wing of the EU. That is why, since the establishment of the EEAS, we have sought and continue to seek to improve our decision-making processes and strengthen our common foreign policy.”
The EEAS is also conducting internal studies on possible ideas for reform, the officials added.
Stefan Lene, a former EU official who is now a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe in Brussels, said: “If you look at the development of EU foreign policy over the past five years, it is quite clear that the results have not been positive.”
“There is a need to respond to the negative environment from all sides, and institutional change is one way to do that,” added Lene.
“It would be strange not to adapt the instruments and structure to the new reality that the EU is facing today.”
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