Development of the European Union International Activeness – Institutional, Substantial and Spatial Aspects

Abstract

After the Lisbon Treaty had come into life, the European Union created
a new-old institution called the European External Action Service. It
is in fact a change of the name of the Union’s former diplomatic service
and letting some fresh ethnic air into it – an addition of a new element, i.e.
“experienced” diplomats from Member States’ Ministries of Foreign Affairs.
As a result, the excessive organizational mess was limited (vide: two separate
representations in the UN Headquarters) and the status of the service was
raised (its own budget, one superior). The author presents a broad characteristic
of the Union’s old and new diplomacy objectives and tries to assess its effectiveness.