The foreign policy of the 27-member bloc has long been hindered by disagreements among members and institutional power struggles among Brussels bureaucrats.
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Officials say that key players France and Germany have proposed ideas to restructure the bloc’s diplomatic service, potentially merging parts of it with the European Commission – the powerful EU executive body.
This has raised concerns that the role of foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas could be further weakened by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who diplomats say has already centralized too much control.
“These proposals have sparked some debate, and we will consider them, but I believe the goal is shared: that the European Union should have weight and make its own history,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.
However, after ministerial talks in Ireland, K. Kallas appeared to cool enthusiasm.
“The current institutional setup has broad support, so it should not be changed, only better implemented,” she said.
K. Kallas said that smaller EU countries fear losing too much control over foreign policy if it is led by the Commission, and indirectly criticized U. von der Leyen.
“If we had problems when someone above me actually makes decisions, (…) then you know it doesn’t work that way. Let’s be very open,” she told journalists.
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K. Kallas added that instead the priority should be simplifying the EU’s complex decision-making process, looking for ways to limit individual member states’ ability to block the entire bloc.
Still, it seems discussions on diplomatic service reform will drag on, with the EU negotiating another long-term budget and Germany seeking areas to save money.
The European External Action Service’s annual budget is about 1 billion euros, and around 5,000 people work in Brussels and missions worldwide.
Reform supporters argue that many of this service’s functions currently overlap with those of the Commission, and that transferring control would help better align EU foreign policy with other areas, such as trade and international aid.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told journalists that Germany plans to organize a ministerial meeting in Berlin to discuss these proposals.
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