The impact of the European External Action Service on the national diplomacy of Finland

Abstract

The European External Action Service (EEAS) was established under the Treaty of
Lisbon in 2009, and became a functioning body in 2011, under the authority of the High
Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Since then it has had the
task of serving the European Union’s (EU) common foreign policy, representing the union
abroad, and developing common strategies (Council Decision 2010/427/EU (1)). The EEAS
brings national diplomats, civil servants from the European Commission and officials from
the Council secretariat together under a common roof (Adler-Nissen 2013: 658). The creation
of the EEAS has arguably been one of the most important foreign policy related inventions in
the EU to date. It has also been a highly controversial invention (Adler-Nissen 2013: 658). A
lot of attention has been devoted by academics and authorities to the functioning of the EEAS
and the work of the High Representative. However, less analysis has been focused on the
implications of and the challenges posed by the new service for the national foreign services
of the individual member states (Ondejcikova 2012: 90). Observers in the member states have
expressed fears that the EEAS, as the Union’s common diplomatic service, will eventually
undermine national diplomacy (Adler-Nissen 2013: 659). For this reason it has in many states
been received with scepticism and apprehension. The self-proclaimed aim of the service is to
be a catalyst that can bring together the foreign policies of the various member states, and to
strengthen the voice and the position of the EU on the global arena. It does not, however,
claim to replace or override national foreign ministries or diplomatic services (Council
Decision 2010/427/EU). This paper is interested in discovering whether or not, and in what
ways, the EEAS has in fact impacted the role and functioning of the national foreign services.