Against this challenging backdrop, Baroness Ashton, the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, has overseen the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS), the new pan-European diplomatic corps. The EEAS was created to help her give

greater coherence and force to EU diplomacy, but it has faced a challenging birth, marked by rivalry and competition between stakeholders, institutional inertia and persistent criticism from a sometimes vicious press. The first anniversary of the service’s inauguration provides an appropriate moment to take stock of its progress and review its future direction.

Almost a year ago, as the EEAS was first launched, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and Chatham House launched a project about its role and direction. Through workshops in London and Brussels we have had the benefit of engaging some of the EU’s leading experts on foreign policy. This report benefits greatly from those discussions, and we are very grateful for the support of all partners in both London and Brussels for their engagement throughout this process.

We are also especially grateful to Richard Whitman, Staffan Hemra and Tom Raines for building on those workshops and forging the insights we received with their own ideas into this report, which provides a number of recommendations on how the EEAS can clarify its direction, show effective leadership and build its diplomatic capacity. Over the coming year, our organizations will continue to analyse the evolution of the EEAS, and highlight how it can support a more effective European foreign policy.

Claudia Crawford

Director, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, London Office

Robin Niblett

Director, Chatham House

December 2011