Special Report The establishment of  
the European External 
Action ServiceEN 2014  NO 11
EUROPEAN
COURT
OF AUDITORS
EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS  
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LUXEMBOURG
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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2014
ISBN 978-92-872-0580-3
doi:10.2865/17377
© European Union, 2014
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Printed in Luxembourg
EN 2014  NO 11
Special Report The establishment of  
the European External 
Action Service
(pursuant to Article 287(4), second subparagraph, TFEU)
02
 Contents
Paragraph
I–VI  Executive summary
1–9 Introduction
1–6 Legal basis and background
7–9 Organisational set-up
10–12  Audit scope and approach
13–67  Observations
13–22  The establishment of the EEAS was rushed and inadequately prepared,  
beset by too many constraints and vaguely defined tasks
14–18  The role of the EEAS was decided late and defined in vague terms
19–22  The EEAS has faced a number of political and financial challenges
23–50  Weaknesses in the prioritisation, organisation and allocation of  
resources reduce the EEAS’s efficiency
25–28  The EEAS did not treat as a priority the development of an overarching  
strategic framework for EU foreign policy, and did not adopt an internal strategy
29–34  The complex organisation of the EEAS does not facilitate timely cooperation  
between departments
35–39  EU special representatives are not sufficiently integrated in the EEAS
40–44 The EEAS faced difficulties in staffing critical functions with the  
resources transferred
45–50  The recruitment procedures were lengthy, costly and did not fully correct  
pre-existing imbalances
03 Contents
51–67  Coordination with the Commission and Member States is improving,  
but is still insufficient for the EEAS to fulfil its potential
52–56  Coordination with the Commission was partly effective
57–61  The new set-up of EU delegations demands more coordination work and  
its administrative management is less efficient
62–64  Member States and the EEAS have not yet fully exploited the potential  
for synergies between their networks of diplomatic representations
65–67  The potential benefits from having the EEAS as permanent chair of  
Council preparatory bodies have not been fully realised
68–73  Conclusions and recommendations
 Reply of the EEAS
04
 Executive  
summary
I
The Lisbon Treaty created the post of High Represent -
ative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy who is also 
Vice-President of the European Commission (hereinaf -
ter HR/VP). The HR/VP aims to ensure the consistency 
of EU foreign policy and is supported in this task by a new diplomatic corps, the European External Action Service (EEAS).
II
The EEAS became formally operational on 1 Janu -
ary 2011, comprising a headquarters located in 
Brussels and a global network of 140 delegations to 
represent the interests of the EU.
III
The audit examined whether:
 — the establishment of the EEAS was adequately 
prepared;
 — the resources of the EEAS were prioritised, organ -
ised and allocated efficiently;
 — the EEAS has coordinated effectively with the Commission and the Member States.
IV
With the establishment of the EEAS, the EU now has 
an operational foreign policy service, equipped with policy desks and crisis management structures, a wide 
network of diplomatic posts and with a balanced pres -
ence of different sources of staff. However, the Court 
found that:
 — the establishment of the EEAS was rushed and 
inadequately prepared, beset by too many con -
straints and vaguely defined tasks; — weaknesses in the prioritisation, organisation and 
allocation of resources had reduced the EEAS’s ef -
ficiency and the EU special representatives are not sufficiently integrated;
 — coordination with the Commission and Member States had improved, but was still insufficient for the EEAS to fulfil its potential.
V
This report is the result of an independent assess -
ment of the establishment of the EEAS. The Court’s 
audit took place at the same time as the preparation 
of the EEAS mid-term review. The Court’s findings and recommendations are generally in line with the EEAS self-assessment, which reinforces the need to address the weaknesses identified.
VI
The report sets out a number of recommendations to enhance EEAS added value and efficiency such as clarifying its tasks and objectives, streamlining 
its organisational design, simplifying its administra -
tive framework, strengthening its strategic role and 
developing its planning. The report also recommends reviewing the appointment process and functioning of EU special representatives and EEAS recruitment pro -
cedures. The EEAS should work with the Commission 
to mitigate the impact of the rigidity of its financial 
and staff regulations on the efficiency of EU delega -
tions. Finally, the EEAS should continue its efforts to promote information sharing and co-location with Member States; and should assess the opportunity to offer certain consular services.
05
 Introduction
1 Article 18 of the Treaty on the 
European Union.
2 The High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, the Commissioner responsible for external relations, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Member State exercising the rotating Presidency.
3 Council conclusions on the EEAS Review, General Affairs Council meeting, 17.12.2013.
4 Article 27(3) of the Treaty on European Union states that 
the EEAS must be staffed with 
Commission and General Secretariat of the Council (GSC) officials and with diplomats seconded by Member States.
5 Council Decision 2010/427/EU of 26 July 2010 establishing the organisation and functioning of the European External Action Service (OJ L 201, 3.8.2010, p. 30).Legal basis and 
background
01 
The Lisbon Treaty created a new EU 
foreign affairs chief, the High Rep -
resentative for Foreign Affairs and 
Security Policy who is simultane -
ously Vice-President of the European 
Commission (hereinafter HR/VP)1. The 
HR/VP is supported by a new diplo -
matic corps, the EEAS. These changes 
brought an end to the former ‘troika’ 
mechanism2 which had conducted EU 
foreign policy during the previous two decades.
02 
The EEAS was envisaged as the cor -
nerstone of a new EU foreign policy, ‘a modern and operational foreign 
policy service, equipped to promote 
EU values and interests as well as to ensure coordination and consistency in the EU’s relations with the rest of the world’
3, leveraging the efforts of 
both the EU institutions and the Mem -
ber States. To this end, its staff bring 
together the joint forces of the main 
stakeholders: the Commission, the Council and the Member States. The diverse origin of its staff was consid -
ered a critical element for its success 
and was therefore specifically stated in 
the Lisbon Treaty
4.03 
When the Lisbon Treaty entered into force on 1 December 2009, the Mem -
ber States were still exploring differ -
ent options for establishing the EEAS. Acting on a proposal of the HR/VP after consulting the European Parlia -
ment and after obtaining the consent of the European Commission, the 
Council adopted the Council Deci -
sion of 26 July 2010 establishing the 
organisation and functioning of the EEAS
5 which confirmed its autonomy, 
stated the basic principles of its or -
ganisational set-up and decided which services would be transferred from the Commission and the General Secre -
tariat of the Council (hereinafter GSC) to the EEAS.
04 
The EEAS’s unique characteristics make it different from the Commission (a supranational institution) and the 
Council (an intergovernmental insti -
tution). Depending on whether the 
subject matter is an EU competence or not, it functions like a Commission de -
partment or as the GSC. When it works as a Commission department, the EEAS 
has the same rights and competences 
as any other department to participate in the internal coordination mecha -
nisms of the Commission.
06 Introduction
6 Council conclusions on the 
EEAS Review, General Affairs Council meeting, 17.12.2013.
7 A network initiated by the Commission 50 years ago.
8 The Staff Regulations of officials and the conditions of employment of other servants of the European Communities breaks EU officials down into two groups, according to the nature and importance of their duties: administrators and assistants. Administrators carry out administrative, advisory, linguistic and scientific duties while assistants carry out technical and clerical duties.
9 Article 6(9) of Council Decision 2010/427/EU.
10 46 % at delegations (376 administrator positions) and 24 % at headquarters (559 administrator positions).05 
The Council Decision called for a mid-
term review of the establishment of 
the EEAS. This review, published on 
29 July 2013, summarises the progress made, the difficulties encountered and includes medium- and short-term recommendations to improve its functioning. On 17 December 2013, 
the Council adopted its conclusions on 
the review
6, which included support -
ing the implementation of the short- term recommendations and inviting 
the next HR/VP to present by the end 
of 2015 an evaluation on the organi -
sation and functioning of the EEAS and, if necessary, a proposal for a new Council decision.
06 
The Court’s audit work took place in parallel with the mid-term review carried out by the EEAS. The Court is 
aware of the review and of the related 
conclusions of the Council, and ob -
serves that in many points its conclu -
sions and recommendations converge with both documents. In this context, 
more particularly in the light of the 
corrective action to be taken, the Court provides an independent assess -
ment of a crucial new European body.Organisational set-up
07 
The EEAS became formally opera -
tional on 1 January 2011. It comprises 
a headquarters located in Brussels 
and a global network of 140 former Commission delegations
7, which were 
handed over to the EEAS on that date and upgraded to ‘EU’ delegations with 
a greater political mandate — to repre -
sent the interests of the Union.
08 
The EEAS is independent for adminis -
trative matters. It was initially staffed 
exclusively via the transfer of some 
GSC and Commission departments 
and gradually recruited Member State diplomats. The Council decision set a target that, at full capacity, one third of EEAS administrators
8 should be dip -
lomats from the Member States9.  
As at June 2013, the EEAS had 3 392 staff, 1 487 at its headquarters 
and 1 905 in its delegations, and Mem -
ber State diplomats occupied 33 % of 
its 935 administrator positions
10.
09 
For 2014, the EEAS has a budget of 519 million euro which is split between headquarters (41 %) and delegations 
(59 %). The Commission tops up the 
delegations’ budget with approxi -
mately 270 million euro annually. This is due to the fact that EU delegations still host a significant number of Com -
mission staff, most working on the 
implementation of EU operational 
budget for which the Commission is 
responsible.
07
 Audit scope  
and approach
11 Briefing requests support the 
preparation of high level meetings. The EEAS staff answer them through documents in various forms (e.g. speaking points, speeches or background notes).
12 Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Hungary, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden and United Kingdom.10 
The Court audited the establish -
ment of the EEAS by answering three 
questions:
(a) Was the establishment of the EEAS 
adequately prepared?
(b) Were the resources of the EEAS pri -
oritised, organised and allocated efficiently?
(c) Has the EEAS coordinated effec -
tively with the Commission and the Member States?
11 
The audit covered the preparatory work conducted by EU institutions and the Member States and the activities 
carried out by the EEAS from its launch 
on 1 January 2011 to December 2013.
12 
The Court gathered evidence for its as -
sessment through various means:
(a) documentation analysis and litera -
ture review;
(b) a sample of 30 briefing requests11 
made by the President of the 
Council, the President of the  
Commission, the HR/VP and other  
Commissioners during 2011–12;(c) a sample of 30 administrator re -
cruitment procedures: 15 at head -
quarters and 15 in delegations;
(d) a sample of 14 EEAS staff training courses organised since 2011;
(e) a quantitative analysis of EEAS 
staffing data as of 15 April 2013,  
10 January 2012 and 
25 January 2011;
(f) a survey of a sample of 35 EU del -
egations (all 35 replied);
(g) a survey of Member States which was completed by 15 of them
12;
(h) interviews with representatives 
of the GSC and nine Commission 
directorates-general to obtain their views on cooperation with the EEAS;
(i) interviews with EEAS managers and staff, with the EU Special Rep -
resentatives for Human Rights, the Southern Mediterranean, and Ko -
sovo, and with representatives of the foreign ministries of Belgium, 
Germany, France, Luxembourg and 
Poland.
08
 Observations
13 The Irish electorate rejected 
the Lisbon Treaty in June 2008 before approving it in a second referendum on 2.10.2009.
14 The latest overarching EU strategic document is still the 2003 European Security Strategy which, although updated in 2008, does not reflect the evolving geopolitical events which have transformed the world. However, Member States disagree on the case for a new strategy as some consider that the principles stated in 2003 are still valid.
15 Article 2 and Article 3 of Council Decision 2010/427/EU. In addition, in the context of the HR/VP’s mandate to ensure policy consistency with regard to EU external action, Article 9 recognises a key role for the EEAS in the programming of the Commission’s external action instruments.The establishment of the 
EEAS was rushed and inadequately prepared, beset by too many  
constraints and vaguely defined tasks
13 
This section (paragraphs 13 to 22) 
answers the first question: Was the establishment of the EEAS adequately prepared? The report analyses wheth -
er EEAS tasks are clearly specified, 
limited in number and understood 
equivalently by the Commission and the Member States; and whether the EEAS has the policy and financial tools it needs to perform its tasks.
The role of the EEAS was 
decided late and defined in 
vague terms
14 
Due to uncertainties concerning the 
ratification of the Lisbon Treaty13, the 
Member States and EU institutions did little preparatory work prior to set -
ting up the EEAS. As a result, when the Lisbon Treaty entered into force on 1 December 2009, the characteristics of the future service were still under discussion by the Member States, the Commission and the Council.15 
An important factor during this discus -
sion was that the EU’s objectives were 
not set out in an overarching EU for -
eign policy strategy, which could have 
guided this preparatory work14.
16 
Consequently, the Council decision does not state any objectives for the EEAS. Instead, it merely states its 
tasks
15:
(a) supporting the HR/VP to fulfil her triple-hatted mandate: conducting 
the common foreign and security policy, presiding over the Foreign Affairs Council and being Vice-President (VP) of the Commission;
(b) assisting the President of the European Council, the President of the Commission and the Commis -
sion itself in the exercise of their respective functions in the area of 
external relations;
(c) supporting the diplomatic services 
of the Member States, the GSC and the Commission, and other institu -
tions and bodies of the Union, in particular the European Parliament and cooperating with them.
09 Observations
16 EU internal policies and 
actions can have significant impacts beyond the EU’s borders, likewise external events can also impact on EU internal dynamics. The ‘external dimension of internal policies’ generally refers to the situations where the external aspects of internal EU policies have a growing foreign and security policy dimension. As an example of the impact of EU internal policies over EU foreign policy, bilateral relationships with Canada have been dominated for a long time by the discussion on the impact of the EU’s policies on climate change over the access to European markets of oil produced from tar sands.
17 The EEAS started operations during the Arab Spring, specifically on the eve of the international intervention in Libya.
18 This response included numerous initiatives such as the development of a new neighbourhood policy adopted in May 2011, the opening of the EU office in Benghazi in May 2011 and the appointment of a European Union Special Representative for the Southern Mediterranean in July 2011. The EU delegation to Libya was finally opened in November 2011.
19 The EU’s comprehensive approach is an integrated approach towards a country or a region which combines the use of traditional instruments (e.g. development assistance) and common foreign and security policy actions (e.g. sanctions) in support of a high level objective. The value added of such combination was recognised before (e.g. after the Balkan wars) but its implementation was affected by the multiplicity of EU foreign policy actors at that time. A joint communication from the HR/VP and the Commission on this subject was published on 11.12.2013.17 
The Council decision reflects the 
agreement among the Member States, 
the European Parliament and the 
Commission at the moment of drawing up the text. It does not further define these wide-ranging tasks and says lit -
tle about their substance.
18 
As a result, departments were trans -
ferred to the EEAS not on the basis 
of their expected contribution to the 
fulfilment of EEAS objectives, but on the basis of their activities and their administrative position within the Commission or the GSC. This is particularly evident with regard to 
the external dimension of internal EU 
policies, for which the EEAS received no resources from the Commission
16. In 
particular, the EEAS was created with no departments to deal with global 
issues of relevance to the EU such as 
climate change or energy security, as the resources dealing with these is -
sues were transferred from the former Commission Directorate-General for 
External Relations (DG RELEX) to other 
Commission departments before the establishment of the EEAS. This has contributed to the de facto outcome whereby the EEAS has had practical difficulties to coordinate some actions 
of the Commission with impact over 
EU foreign policy.The EEAS has faced a num -
ber of political and financial 
challenges
19 
The establishment of the EEAS took 
place during a time of increasing turmoil in the southern Mediterra -
nean
17. The EEAS focused its attention 
on leading the EU’s response18 which 
took priority over the development of foreign policy initiatives, long awaited 
by Member States and EU institu -
tions alike, such as the reform of the 
common security and defence policy procedures and structures and the de -
velopment of the EU’s comprehensive 
approach
19.
10 Observations
20 Recital 15 in the preamble to 
the Council decision states that: ‘the establishment … should be guided by the principle of cost-efficiency aiming towards budget neutrality’.
21 The administrative tasks associated with the EEAS’s autonomy, tasks previously carried out by the rotating Presidency (e.g. chairing some Council working groups) and the new political duties of EU delegations (e.g. coordinating all EU embassies on the ground).20 
In a time of austere EU and national 
budgets, the Council decided that 
the establishment of the EEAS should 
follow the principle of budgetary neutrality
20. However, establishing 
a new institution is inherently costly, even more so when the resulting body 
has to carry out new tasks. Indeed, the 
Council decided it without a resource assessment that should have taken into account both the new demands
21 
and the potential for synergies result -
ing from the merging of Commission 
and GSC structures.
21 
The budgetary-neutral condition was 
applied strictly and only foreign policy structures were transferred into the 
new service. This meant that the EEAS 
did not receive resources for support functions. Instead, the Commission and the GSC continued to provide ser -
vices ranging from staff management 
(such as recruitment, medical examina -
tions or payment of salaries) to admin -
istrative support (such as IT, buildings 
or meeting room facilities). To this end, the EEAS signed service level agree -
ments with the Commission and the 
GSC. This was a pragmatic solution in 
the short term but, overall, the services provided did not fully address the EEAS’s needs:
(a) The EEAS had no opportunity 
to assess or alter the scope and benefits of these service level agreements which were drafted in accordance with the support given before its establishment.(b) The duration of the agreements did not take into account the  
EEAS’s needs. For instance, the 
GSC’s support for the maintenance 
of the secured systems used for 
distributing classified information 
ended before an alternative and effective solution was established (in line with the budget neutral 
principle).
22 
No overall assessment was made to 
compare the operational costs of the EEAS with the costs of the previous 
structures, including Member States. 
In this respect, the establishment of the EEAS is likely to have brought Member States considerable savings. For example, Member States can rely on EEAS political reporting instead of 
producing their own reports, the rotat -
ing Presidency has a smaller workload 
in preparing and chairing Council working groups and the salaries of the seconded diplomats are now paid by the EEAS.
11 Observations
22 The EU currently has strategic 
partnerships with 10 countries: Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, South Korea and USA. These partnerships were entered into by the Council long before the EEAS was set up.
23 Spain, Italy, Poland and Sweden considered that a broad strategic approach for EU external relations was needed and decided to fund the ‘Think-tank process for a European Global Strategy’ initiative to prepare it.
24 European Parliament Report on the Implementation of the Common Security and Defence Policy (A7-0357/2012), 31.10.2012.
25 Half of the Member States that replied to the survey thought that the EEAS should contribute more towards the development of EU foreign policies, such as regional strategies.Weaknesses in the  
prioritisation, organisa -
tion and allocation of 
resources reduce the EEAS’s efficiency
23 
This section (paragraphs 23 to 50) 
answers the second question: Were the resources of the EEAS prioritised, 
organised and allocated efficiently? 
The Court audited samples of recruit -
ment procedures, briefings and train -
ing courses, and made a quantitative 
analysis of staffing data.
24 
Based on that, the Court assesses the management strategy, the objective setting and planning, the organisa -
tional structure of the EEAS, the role of EU special representatives and the management of human resources, fo -
cussing on recruitment, staff allocation and training.The EEAS did not treat as 
a priority the development 
of an overarching strategic 
framework for EU foreign policy, and did not adopt an 
internal strategy
25 
In view of a rapidly evolving interna -
tional situation, the EEAS has favoured 
ad hoc approaches instead of pro -
posing an overarching foreign policy strategy. The EEAS has also opted not 
to propose an overarching approach 
to deal with the EU’s strategic partner -
ships, although the existing ones
22 
had been established long before the Lisbon Treaty in an ad hoc way and 
may have no clear link with current EU 
foreign policy priorities. The absence of an overarching strategic framework has been criticised by some Member States
23 and the European Parliament24, 
which expected a more proactive role for the EEAS in developing the EU’s 
foreign policy
25.
26 
Whenever strategic guidance is miss -
ing, the EEAS consults with the EU 
institutions and the Member States to 
prepare the EU’s responses. The result -
ing ad hoc strategies are the outcome 
of intense debates before being for -
mally adopted by the Commission and endorsed by the Council. This process 
does not facilitate timely action.
12 Observations
26 The trio Presidency was 
established in 2007, following a decision by the European Council, according to which the Union’s Member States are divided in groups of three consecutive rotating Presidencies of the Council of the EU, which form the trio. It aims to achieve continuity and consistency in the work of the Council.
27 The Crisis Management and Planning Directorate (created in 2009), the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (2007), the Intelligence Analysis Centre (2002) and the Military Staff (2001). They are essential to deploy civilian and military instruments decided by the Council in response to crises (e.g. the launch of a military training mission in Mali in February 2013 to support stability in the Sahel region).
28 A geographical desk consists of one or more EEAS staff covering the same country. They are grouped into geographical services.
29 DG RELEX had four senior managers (one director- general and three deputy directors-general) and the GSC two senior managers (a director-general and a deputy director-general). In contrast, the EEAS has 13 senior managers.27 
The EEAS has not yet adopted an 
internal strategy or management plan. 
In 2011 the HR/VP did, however, set 
three initial priorities:
(a) setting up the EEAS as a working 
institution;
(b) developing the 10 existing EU Stra -
tegic Partnerships;
(c) strengthening the European Neighbourhood Policy in response to the Arab Spring.
Besides this limited number of priori -
ties, the EEAS was flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances and played key facilitator roles on the 
Kosovo–Serbia dialogue and the Iran 
nuclear programme talks.
28 
The EEAS has neither established ob -
jectives nor developed detailed criteria to assess the achievement of these 
priorities. It has also not developed 
a comprehensive planning framework, so each department decides how to plan its own activities. This hampers the EEAS’s overall efficiency, as tasks and resources do not necessarily fol -
low top-level objectives. In addition, the lack of a comprehensive planning framework makes it more difficult to integrate its activities within the wider context of the Commission’s annual work programme or the 18-month trio 
programme
26 (prepared by the group 
of three rotating Presidencies and 
the GSC).The complex organisation of 
the EEAS does not facilitate 
timely cooperation between 
departments
29 
The overall structure of the EEAS is 
complex, partly due to the fact that, 
unlike a typical ministry of foreign af -
fairs, it has additional functions which 
are characteristic of defence ministries, interior ministries and intelligence ser -
vices. The geographical desks, largely taken over from the former Commis -
sion Directorate for External Relations (DG RELEX), and the crisis manage -
ment structures taken over from the GSC
27 create two distinct parts of the 
organisation, the latter reporting di -
rectly to the HR/VP .
30 
The EEAS’s structure follows a pyramid organisational design which is more complex than the foreign policy struc -
tures it replaces:
(a) geographical desks, the core func -
tion of the EEAS
28, having addi -
tional levels of management than 
hitherto (see the Table );
(b) there are more organisational units which are also of smaller size (managers have a narrower span of control, with approximately 20 % 
fewer staff reporting to them); and
(c) the EEAS has twice the number 
of senior management staff as its predecessors
29.
13 Observations
30 In particular, with the crisis 
response and operational coordination department, the security policy and conflict prevention directorate and to certain extent with the global issues and counterterrorism division. For example, the audit revealed overlaps on crisis prevention, crisis response planning, space policy and security sector reform.31 
The top-heavy nature of the EEAS is 
partly due to the Council decision, which envisaged the creation of direc -
torates-general for geographical areas and required that one third of EEAS staff should come from the Member States. As most of the management posts transferred to the EEAS were al -
ready occupied by permanent officials, the EEAS created a top-heavy struc -
ture, allowing a significant number of top posts to be occupied by Member State diplomats.32 
The common security and defence policy’s structures taken over from the GSC were created on a case-by- 
case basis over the years without an 
overarching framework and overlap with other crisis management de -
partments
30. The EEAS has started 
to address these issues, but this is a complex process which requires the 
unanimous support of Member States 
to change several Council decisions. In the meantime, it has established new mechanisms to foster coordination, such as the crisis management board 
and the crisis platform (see Box 1 ).TableOverview of management levels at EEAS, DG RELEX and GSC
New structure Previous structures
EEAS DG RELEX GSC
(six levels) (five levels) (five levels)
1. HR/VP 1. Commissioner
2. Executive Secretary-General/ Chief Operating Officer - 1. Secretary-General
3. Deputy Secretaries-General - -
4. Managing Directors 2. Director-General 2. Director-General
- 3. Deputy Directors-General  3. Deputy Director-General
5. Directors 4. Directors 4. Directors
6. Heads of Division 5. Heads of Unit 5. Heads of Unit
Source:  EEAS staffing data and Official Directory of the European Union, 2010.
14 Observations
31 The Executive Secretary-
General, Chief Operating Officer and two Deputy Secretaries-General.
32 In the sample, the validation process took an average of four days and included up to five validators (Deputy Head of Division, Head of Division, Director, Managing Director, Member of the Corporate Board) before reaching the Cabinet, where there is a possibility that the text may be redrafted.33 
The EEAS has a Corporate Board, 
composed of its four most senior of -
ficials31. It aims to ensure that activities 
carried out by the EEAS are consistent and contribute towards achieving the 
political objectives established by the 
HR/VP . The EEAS internal procedures do not consider it as a collective entity with a distinctive role and functions. Although the Corporate Board has 
facilitated coordination among the 
top managers, it could not reduce as expected the workload of the HR/VP , who still has 23 direct reporting lines.34 
As in any diplomatic service, having timely access to information is of key importance. The audit assessed the 
effectiveness of the existing proce -
dures for the production and distribu -
tion of two main types of information 
products:
(a) The EEAS provides support for 
the preparation of meetings held 
by the President of the European 
Council, the President of the Com -
mission, the HR/VP and Commis -
sioners by responding to briefing requests in due time. However, answers can take a relatively long 
time to be prepared, notably due 
to the validation process, which is the result of the EEAS’s structure
32. 
Moreover, departments rarely receive feedback regarding either the text or the final outcome of the 
meeting for which a given briefing 
note was prepared, making it more difficult for them to improve.The crisis platform
The crisis platform is a new coordination mechanism to provide the EEAS and the Commission with clear political and strategic guidance for the management of a given crisis. Depending on the characteristics of a particular crisis, the crisis platform brings together crisis management structures, geographical and horizon -
tal departments, and relevant Commission services.
When a crisis platform is launched, the geographical managing director transfers the lead over the country to 
the Managing Director for Crisis Response and Operational Coordination, who coordinates the EU’s response. This limits the number of crises which the EU can deal with at the same time, as the crisis response managing director does not have sufficient resources to manage more than two crises simultaneously. As a result, a crisis 
platform for a given country may be called off when the crisis is still ongoing and the EU’s response has not 
yet taken shape (e.g. Libya).Box 1
15 Observations
33 This is a heritage from GSC 
systems, which were built to avoid mixing civilian and military information.
34 Special representatives had been at the disposal of the Council since 1996. Initially the Council could appoint a special representative whenever it deemed necessary, but, after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, only the HR/VP can propose this.(b) With the establishment of the 
EEAS, intelligence services and delegations were for the first 
time part of the same organisa -
tion, increasing the potential for combining political reporting and 
intelligence to assist decision-makers. However, the distribution of intelligence products is still 
limited because of the practical 
difficulties of sharing classified 
information with some recipients. 
In this regard, most EU delega -
tions are not prepared to deal with classified documents, many heads of delegation do not yet have the appropriate security clearance and 
the systems used for political re -
porting and intelligence reporting 
are still incompatible
33. As a result, 
access to and the use of classified information within the EEAS, nota -
bly by the delegations, is seriously constrained.
EU special representatives 
are not sufficiently  
integrated in the EEAS
35 
One of the oldest instruments of the 
common foreign and security policy is the deployment of EU special repre -
sentatives to deal with crises or spe -
cific tasks on behalf of the EU
34. Special 
representatives are appointed by the Foreign Affairs Council on recommen -
dation of the HR/VP and benefit from strong support from Member States.36 
Initially, the special representatives had an important role in helping 
coordinate foreign policy between the 
Council and the Commission, which, however, became redundant after the establishment of the EEAS. Still, taking into account their special tasks deal -
ing with regional problems and ad hoc 
crises, the EEAS continues to consider 
them as a useful instrument and the Council appreciates them as a valuable foreign policy tool. That is why after a temporary decrease in their number (from 12 in 2010 to 9 in 2011), there 
were 11 special representatives at the 
end of 2013.
37 
The special representatives have broad mandates. This allows for a high degree of flexibility during implemen -
tation, but also makes it more difficult to evaluate their performance. Despite being considered as ad hoc crisis-response instrument, special repre -
sentatives are in place for an average 
of 8 years, which risks leading to their 
proliferation and an undermining of the role of the normal EEAS structures.
16 Observations
35 In 2012, common foreign and 
security policy funding for special representatives amounted to 27 897 500 euro which is equivalent to 5,7 % of the total EEAS expenditure for 2012. These amounts are funded by common foreign and security policy operational appropriations.
36 In particular, the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability which is in charge of operational planning and implementation of civilian common security and defence policy missions.38 
In December 2013, 7 of the 11 special 
representatives were based in Brus-
sels and co-located in the premises of 
the EEAS. The EU special representa -
tives are only integrated into the EEAS structure when double-hatted as heads of delegation (4 out of the 11, all located outside the EU). In the absence 
of clear procedures, it is left to the 
discretion of the individual special representatives to decide how to man -
age coordination with the relevant EEAS departments, thus increasing the risk that their actions are inconsist -
ent with other EU actions. Only half of the surveyed heads of delegation considered that they were adequately informed about the activities of special representatives.
39 
The special representatives are funded by the ‘operations’ EU budget man -
aged by the Commission which, at 
times of budgetary constraint, gives 
the EEAS significant additional re -
sources outside the EEAS administra -
tive budget
35. However, this also leaves 
them outside the administrative and management framework established 
for the EEAS, notably in terms of 
staffing, salaries, and reporting, and obliges them to comply with extra administrative and financial obliga -
tions reducing their availability for 
policymaking.The EEAS faced difficulties in 
staffing critical functions with 
the resources transferred
40 
The EEAS started operations with 
given resources and services, with staff being transferred on the basis of 
their status as of 31 December 2010. 
In 2011, the EEAS performed an initial 
screening exercise focusing on the 
rationalisation of the geographical 
desks. In 2012, a second screening 
procedure was launched with more ambitious goals in terms of assessing needs and aligning resources with EU 
foreign policy priorities. These two 
screening procedures allowed the EEAS to strengthen its administrative and support functions which were not sufficiently staffed when it was set up.
41 
Despite 18 redeployments, the staffing of the delegations’ political sections is still not completed and no new 
resources had been provided to take 
over responsibilities relating to the rotating Presidency. Similarly, the rel -
evant departments
36 had not received 
corresponding new staff resources for the operational planning and imple -
mentation of the wave of common security and defence policy missions launched in 2012 and 2013 to respond, in particular, to the crises in Libya, the Horn of Africa and the Sahel.
17 Observations
37 Overall, 35 % of the heads of 
delegation who returned to Brussels have not been given a management function.
38 The full costs of EEAS recruitment procedures are unknown, as the EEAS Human Resources department only pays the costs for Member State diplomats, while EU institutions pay the related expenses for EU officials. The requirement that the delegations must finance the expenses for their staff when they participate in recruitment procedures has also put pressure on their own budgets.42 
In addition to climate change and 
energy security (see paragraph 18), 
the audit revealed several areas where 
a shortage of thematic expertise was particularly problematic: economic and financial issues, common secu -
rity and defence policy expertise at delegation level, code of conduct in 
space, cyber-security, migration, sanc -
tions and asset recovery. The thematic 
desks are the main interlocutors with the Commission during the inter-service consultation procedure which is the key opportunity for the EEAS to 
influence policymaking. Consequently, 
these gaps make it more difficult for the EEAS to ensure policy consistency regarding the external dimension of internal policies.
43 
The GSC and the Commission foreign policy structures used different IT applications. In addition, the estab -
lishment of the EEAS brought new requirements, for example in terms of secured communication networks to share information with delegations. However, the EEAS could not address 
its immediate needs, such as updating 
and integrating the applications inher -
ited from the Commission and the GSC and improving communications with the delegations and Member States.
44 
The EEAS is largely dependent on seconded national experts that are not included in the establishment plan 
(366 at headquarters and delegations 
as of June 2013). This means that more 
than half of the EEAS’s administrator 
level staff are seconded from Member States for a limited period and can be recalled, which is a risk for the EEAS’s 
institutional memory and its business 
continuity.The recruitment procedures 
were lengthy, costly and did 
not fully correct pre-existing 
imbalances
45 
The EEAS was required to renew its 
workforce by recruiting one third of 
its executive staff from the Member 
States in two and a half years, an unprecedented obligation for any EU institution. The EEAS has reached this objective.
46 
Fulfilling the one third requirement through natural attrition was inherent -
ly difficult as most existing staff had 
permanent contracts. Subsequently, 
career prospects were affected and many staff left the EEAS, in particu -
lar staff coming to the end of their appointments at delegations
37. This 
was a loss of valuable experience and a cause of staff distress.
47 
The EEAS’s recruitment procedures are lengthy, especially for head of delega -
tion positions, as the HR/VP decided 
to interview all short-listed candidates, 
no matter the size of the delegation. They are also costly, as many candi -
dates are located outside the EU and interviews are held in person in Brus -
sels
38. Due to the HR/VP’s busy sched -
ule, it is difficult to arrange interviews with early notice or avoid last minute 
changes, resulting in additional costs, 
time delays and media criticism.
18 Observations
39 75 and 39 candidates were 
invited more than once for interviews in 2012 and 2013 respectively. In 2013 the 10 candidates with the greatest number of invitations combined 37 interviews in Brussels.
40 In January 2011, 28 % and 13 % of the administrators were women and nationals of the Member States which joined the Union in 2004 and 2007 respectively.48 
Representatives of the Member States, 
the Commission and the GSC partici -
pate in the recruitment of sensitive posts, which facilitates an unbiased procedure in terms of origin of the candidates. However, the EEAS has not established a competency framework for managers as a basis for the evalu -
ation of pre-selected candidates. In addition, the EEAS decided not to use assessment centres for managerial po -
sitions despite the possible advantag -
es. For example, assessment centres may reduce the need for interviews
39, 
provide additional input on the candi -
date’s competences and identify train -
ing and development needs.
49 
Significant gender and geographi -
cal imbalances, which already ex -
isted in the previous foreign policy 
structures40, still remained as of 
September 2013:
(a) Too few women worked as admin -
istrators (34 %) and they were even 
more under-represented at delega -
tions (26 % of administrators) or within the category of managers 
(21 %).
(b) Only 14 % of managers came from 
the Member States which joined the Union in 2004 and 2007, below the 21 % that would represent 
their share of the EU population.50 
Induction training was insufficiently 
targeted to address the needs of new 
EEAS staff, as Member State diplo -
mats are not familiar with Commis -
sion procedures and practices and EU 
officials are not well trained in their new diplomatic functions. However, changes to the induction training were 
implemented in September 2013.
19 Observations
41 The EEAS review states that 
‘Unfortunately these meetings have not been held frequently enough. The President of the Commission and the High Representative have recently agreed that the Relex Group of Commissioners should meet more regularly, with the High Representative in the Chair’.
42 The Commission reinforced the role of the Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs by elevating the post to that of Vice-President, and giving the post-holder additional working instruments.
43 Country team meetings are organised by each geographical service on average twice to three times per year; they often do not include all relevant participants such as thematic desks, common security and defence policy structures or EU special representatives. The EEAS managing directorate responsible for counter-terrorism and development issues, DG Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, DG Development and Cooperation — EuropeAid and the special representatives are not represented in the Crisis Management Board. DG Home Affairs is the only Commission directorate-general represented in the intelligence steering board.Coordination with the 
Commission and Member States is improving, but is still insufficient for the EEAS to fulfil its potential
51 
This section (paragraphs 51 to 67) 
answers the third question: Has the EEAS coordinated effectively with the 
Commission and the Member States? 
The Court used criteria related to the 
effectiveness of the EEAS coordination 
mechanisms with the Commission and the Member States, both at headquar -
ters and at delegation levels.
Coordination with the 
Commission was partly 
effective
52 
The EEAS is meant to contribute 
towards greater foreign policy con -
sistency. This mandate requires close 
cooperation with the Commission 
which under the Lisbon Treaty re -
tains responsibility for some external relations areas (such as development, trade, enlargement, humanitarian assistance and the external aspects of 
internal policies).53 
As Vice-President of the Commission, 
the HR/VP plays a full part in the Com -
mission’s decision-making, but, given the nature of her job, she was not able to attend two thirds of the Commis -
sion meetings in 2012, including those with direct or indirect impact over EU foreign policy. In addition, it proved to 
be difficult to organise formal meet -
ings of External Relations Commission -
ers, with only five held in 29 months, 
all chaired by the President of the Commission
41. In this respect, there has 
been limited progress clarifying what are the concrete functions/powers of 
her VP role, notably when coordinat -
ing other Commissioners. This is in 
contrast with the progress defining the powers of the VP role of the Commis -
sioner for Economic and Monetary 
Affairs and the Euro which was estab -
lished in October 2011 as a response to 
the gravity of the financial crisis
42.
54 
At working level, there are different fora where the EEAS and the Com -
mission coordinate their activities. 
The audit found that country teams, 
the intelligence steering board and the crisis management board meet less frequently than envisaged and that participation does not include 
all relevant parties
43. More systematic 
coordination took place through the 
weekly coordination meetings be -
tween the Commission’s Secretariat-General and the Policy Coordination Division, and in the meetings held be -
tween the EEAS and the Commission directorates-general in the context of 
the Council Working Groups’ prepara -
tory work.
20 Observations
55 
The EEAS participates in the Com -
mission’s inter-service consultations, 
although its limited resources affect 
its impact on the external dimension of internal policies. In the common foreign and security policy, a field of intergovernmental competence, the HR/VP assesses whether a topic falls 
predominantly, or exclusively, under 
this category when deciding whether to consult the Commission. Some -
times, this is a matter of opinion and the proposal may nevertheless have implications for the Commission’s 
areas of competence.56 
The EEAS and the Commission have 
established formal working agree -
ments to coordinate their activities. Overall, the new procedures are less flexible and more demanding than the ones that existed when DG RELEX was in charge of external relations as the EEAS is separated from the Commis -
sion. Although many ex-Commission EEAS staff still had good networks of contacts, which facilitated coordi -
nation, these networks are likely to weaken over time. In addition, the establishment of the EEAS as a sepa -
rate entity increased the number of EU institutions dealing with the same matters and this can make it more dif -
ficult to agree on an efficient division of labour, as is shown by the current 
set-up of crisis rooms within the EU 
(see Box 2 ).
Crisis rooms
Situation monitoring is the continuous review and analysis of events occurring worldwide using all available resources, including reports from EU delegations, intelligence sources, and public media. The EEAS created the EU Situation Room in 2012 using existing resources which had previously been split over three separate 
departments. Although this was a positive step in the reduction of crisis rooms with similar roles, much re -
mains to be done at EU level.
In May 2013, the Commission established its own Emergency Response Centre, to provide ‘a better coordinat -
ed, faster and more efficient response when disaster strikes in Europe and the rest of the world’. In addition, 
the GSC supports the implementation of the EU emergency and crisis coordination arrangements (EU-CCA), 
which were designed to ‘ensure rapid and coordinated EU cross-sector policy responses in serious crises under 
the leadership of the rotating Presidency’. Currently there is no clear division of responsibilities between the EU Situation Room, the Emergency Response Centre and EU-CCA structures to mitigate the evident risk of overlaps.
Other specific centres also continue to play a relevant role in crisis response
44. The current architecture raises 
questions in terms of efficiency and effectiveness, as information and responsibilities are scattered over dif -
ferent players and, for example, the EU will only have a joint integrated threat and risk assessment report as 
of 2015.
44 The strategic analysis and response capability (DG Home Affairs), the health emergency operations facility (DG Health and Consumers), the 
emergency operations centre within the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and the Frontex Situation Centre.Box 2
21 Observations
45 According to the replies 
received from the heads of delegation to the Court’s survey, 46 % spend 50 % or more of their time on management/administrative tasks.The new set-up of EU  
delegations demands more  
coordination work and its 
administrative management is less efficient
57 
At delegation level the strict distinc -
tion between the administrative 
budgets of the EEAS and Commission 
has added complexity to the budget 
preparation and implementation 
stages. For example, during 2012, the 
Commission funded administrative costs in delegations through eight different directorates-general and 
three instruments. Having separated 
budgets has a negative impact on the efficiency of the delegations, as the current set-up requires more resources to manage the administrative budget and it is a source of risk in a framework 
of limited resources and decentralised 
budget implementation (see Box 3 ). 
In November 2013, the EEAS made a proposal to the Commission for sim -
plification which if implemented will reduce the number of funding sources 
to a maximum of two.58 
Heads of delegation also face signifi -
cant difficulties in allocating staff to priorities, as they can only allocate 
Commission staff to EEAS duties within a limit of 20 % of their working time. In addition, Commission staff cannot au -
thorise EEAS expenditure. As a result, heads of delegation spend a signifi -
cant part of their time on administra -
tive rather than political issues, which hampers their effectiveness
45.
59 
Heads of Delegation and desk offic -
ers at headquarters are not always informed about the instructions and 
reports sent between the Commission 
headquarters and Commission staff in delegations. This puts at risk the consistency of EU actions.
Financial authorisation restrictions
There are strict restrictions on which delegation staff can authorise EEAS administrative expenditure and Commission operational expenditure. The sole exception is the Head of Delegation, who works for the EEAS but is sub-delegated by the Commission to authorise Commission operational expenditure. This has led to 
situations where nobody is authorised to implement some of the fundamental steps of financial transactions, 
notably in delegations where the only EEAS administrator is the Head of Delegation: in his/her absence no one else can authorise EEAS administrative expenditure.Box 3
22 Observations
46 In this regard, the Council has 
given its full support to further enhancing co-location and sharing reports and information in the Council conclusions on the EEAS review.60 
The EEAS and the Commission coordi -
nate the management of delegations 
though EUDEL, a body that meets at 
both senior and operative levels. At the same time, however, the Commis -
sion also has a separate forum, ‘COM -
DEL’, to deal with Commission-specific matters. The EEAS does not receive the 
minutes of COMDEL meetings and is 
not consulted on relevant initiatives. As an example, the Commission car -
ried out a major workload assessment for Commission posts in delegations in 2011, which did not cover the rela -
tive workload of all delegation staff (including EEAS staff) and the EU’s overall priorities. The existence of two separate bodies to deal with delega -
tion-related matters complicates the 
working arrangements.
61 
Despite these issues, the Member 
States judge that the transformation of the former Commission delegations 
into EU delegations has been a consid -
erable success for the EEAS.Member States and the EEAS 
have not yet fully exploited 
the potential for synergies 
between their networks of diplomatic representations
62 
The EEAS has established regular 
meetings with the diplomatic services of the Member States to discuss issues 
of common interest. These meetings 
were organised at different levels and 
allowed the EEAS to coordinate a wide 
range of topics, from political issues to administrative matters such as training or security.
63 
However, the new role for EU delega -
tions has not been followed by a sig -
nificant exploitation of synergies with 
the diplomatic services of the Member 
States, which is largely attributable to the short time passed and a lack of commitment from the Member States themselves. The co-location of EU del -
egations and Member State diplomatic representations is still very limited and common political reporting is excep -
tional. In practice, the information flow between the delegations and Member State embassies remains one-way with 
delegations receiving little informa -
tion. Co-location and common politi -
cal reporting are areas which provide 
good opportunities for the EEAS to provide added value
46.
23 Observations
64 
The Lisbon Treaty, which set up EU 
delegations, increased expectations 
that these ‘houses of Europe’ would 
provide consular services, includ -
ing consular protection of EU citi -
zens. However, much still remains to be done, and the EEAS has not yet prepared a detailed analysis of the 
financial implications of addressing 
these issues, especially of meeting the expectations of some medium-sized and small Member States. The Member States have neither reached a common position on this issue nor agreed on 
the harmonisation of rules and legisla -
tion applicable in crisis and emergency 
situations, staff training and the distri -
bution of costs.
The potential benefits from 
having the EEAS as perma -
nent chair of Council prepar -
atory bodies have not been fully realised
65 
The HR/VP chairs the Foreign Affairs 
Council, one of the configurations of the Council of the European Union, 
and appoints the permanent chairs of 
some of its preparatory bodies, includ -
ing the Political and Security Commit -
tee. Although this facilitates coordina -
tion and gives the EEAS significant 
influence on the whole foreign policy 
cycle, there are some shortcomings such as the absence of a preparatory body to deal with the external dimen -
sion of internal policies.66 
Having permanent chairs was consid -
ered to represent an advantage over 
the previous rotating chair model 
due to the opportunity for long-term planning and more strategic thinking. However, according to the answers of the Court’s survey of Member States, the EEAS’s chairing of Council com -
mittees and working groups did not lead to a more strategic approach than when they were chaired by the rotat -
ing Presidency.
67 
Overall, the current set-up still requires close cooperation with the rotating Presidency, which chairs the General 
Affairs Council responsible for key 
topics, like accession negotiations, the Committee of permanent repre -
sentatives, and some relevant Council working groups such as the one on development. This coordination has so 
far worked in practice although its ef -
ficiency has suffered from weaknesses 
in the EEAS’s planning and agenda-set -
ting, which has led to the late submis -
sion of documents and short notice before international summits.
24
 Conclusions and 
recommendations
68 
This report is the result of an inde -
pendent assessment of the establish -
ment of the EEAS. The Court’s audit took place at the same time as the preparation of the EEAS mid-term review. The Court’s findings and recommendations are generally in line with the EEAS self-assessment, which 
reinforces the need to address the 
weaknesses identified.
69 
With the establishment of the EEAS the EU has an operational foreign policy service, equipped with policy desks 
and crisis management structures, 
a wide network of diplomatic posts and with a balanced presence of differ -
ent sources of staff.
70 
The establishment of the EEAS took place during a time of financial con -
straints and of increasing turmoil close 
to the EU’s borders. It was also rushed 
and inadequately prepared and, at the same time, was beset by too many constraints and vaguely defined tasks. Overall, all these factors contributed towards a difficult start-up environ -
ment. (See paragraphs 13 to 22)
71 
Weaknesses in the objective setting and planning, organisation and alloca -
tion of resources have also reduced the 
EEAS’s efficiency. The integration of 
the EU special representatives within the work of the EEAS is not yet suf -
ficient. As regards recruitment, the Court found that significant gender and geographical imbalances have not 
yet been fully corrected and that the 
recruitment procedures are costly and lengthy. (See paragraphs 23 to 50)72 
Overall, coordination between the EEAS and the Commission was only 
partly effective, mainly due to the 
absence of effective coordination mechanisms at top level and a rigid financial and administrative framework at delegations, which takes resources away from political tasks. The coordi -
nation with Member States improved although it can be further developed to exploit synergies such as informa -
tion sharing or co-location, to improve consular services, including consu -
lar protection of EU citizens, and to 
facilitate a more strategic role for the 
Council and its preparatory bodies. (See paragraphs 51 to 67)
73 
Based on the above conclusions, the Court recommends that:
(a) the EEAS should clarify its objec -
tives, tasks and competencies, 
streamline its organisational design and simplify the admin -
istrative framework in which it 
operates;
(b) the EEAS should examine with the 
Member States and the Commis -
sion the necessity and feasibility of preparing a new overarching 
strategic framework for EU foreign 
affairs and security policy, to be submitted to the European Council for approval;
(c) the EEAS should develop its comprehensive planning to strengthen the internal coherency of its activities and to better con -
nect them with the Commission’s annual work programme and the 
trio programme of the rotating 
presidencies;
25 Conclusions and recommendations
(d) the EEAS should propose to the 
Council a review of the existing framework applicable to the EU 
special representatives to ensure 
their smooth integration with 
the work of the EEAS, including 
clarifying the conditions for their appointment, the characteristics of their mandate, the mechanisms 
to evaluate their performance, and 
proposing changes to their admin -
istrative position including staffing 
and financial aspects;
(e) the EEAS should review its recruit -
ment procedures on the basis of the lessons learnt during the first 
3 years, adopting a competence 
framework for managers, increas -
ing the use of new technologies to save costs, introducing the use of assessment centres for sensitive posts and being more selective on 
which posts merit the involvement 
of the political level in the selec -
tion procedure;(f) The EEAS and the Commission should propose a new administra -
tive and financial framework for 
the management of EU delega -
tions to reduce the complexity and rigidity derived from the current 
budgetary arrangements and al -
low for a flexible use of delegation staff in the interest of the EU;
(g) The EEAS should continue its ef -
forts to promote information shar -
ing and co-location with Member States; and prepare a feasibility study for initiating consular ser -
vices, including consular protec -
tion of EU citizens.
This report was adopted by Chamber III, headed by Mr Karel PINXTEN, Member of 
the Court of Auditors, in Luxembourg at its meeting of 20 May 2014.
For the Court of Auditors
Vítor Manuel da SILVA CALDEIRA
President

26
improve its approach to these crucial relationships 
has been the subject of intense discussions, also at the highest political level, including at the Euro -
pean Council (September 2010) and at ministerial 
levels (Foreign Affairs Council of December 2010), 
and especially in the Gymnich format in Septem -
ber 2011 and on a number of other occasions. Due 
to the heterogeneous nature of the group of the strategic partner countries and of their respective 
relations with the EU, it has always been recognised 
that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to these partner -
ships might have been not the most beneficial one. 
Initially, the main focus of discussions was on stra -
tegic partnerships with the US, Russia, and China. Then, the focus was also on Brazil, India, and South Africa and, of course, on all other strategic partners. It is also worth mentioning that the structure of 
the strategic partnerships — which implies a set of 
regular meetings at different levels and, particularly the regular organisation of summits — facilitates a systematic follow-up by the Member States and the progressive adjustment of these partnerships to the political priorities and to the evolving interna -
tional situation. Particularly relevant, in this context, are the discussions which take place in the Coreper in the wake of the summits.
The complex organisation of the EEAS 
does not facilitate timely cooperation between departments
32 and Box 1 — the crisis platform
Two new mechanisms have been established to 
foster coordination, such as the crisis management board which deals with horizontal issues and the 
crisis platform which organises the EU response 
to a crisis from all relevant aspects (diplomatic, humanitarian, security, crisis management, etc.) with all relevant stakeholders from the EEAS and from the Commission (in particular ECHO and 
DEVCO). When a crisis platform is launched, the HR, 
or the ESG, or the geographical managing director with the crisis managing director for the opera -
tional aspects of the crisis coordinate the meeting in view of adopting operational conclusions with all actors involved in shaping the EU’s response. As 
stated in the recently adopted Communication on 
comprehensive approach, crisis platforms shall be 
organised on a very regular basis for all countries 
in crisis, like it was the case for the EU’s response in Libya until October 2011.Observations
The role of the EEAS was decided late 
and defined in vague terms
15
The task that has been assigned to the EEAS con -
sists in assisting the HR in fulfilling his/her man -
date, which in turn is to conduct the Union’s CFSP 
and CSDP as mandated by the Council, as well as to ensure the consistency of the Union’s external action.
Decisions on CFSP are subject to unanimity among 
EU Member States, the EEAS could have outlined 
an overarching foreign policy strategy only if EU MS would have given a clear mandate to the HR to proceed in that direction, which has not been the case. Instead, there have been some initiatives by a limited number of MS — such as the project for 
a ‘European Global Strategy’, promoted by Spain, 
Italy, Poland, Sweden — but not supported by oth -
ers, to which the EEAS has been closely associated.
The EU strategic approach continues to be based 
on the European Security Strategy adopted 
in 2003 and its implementation report issued in 2008, whose findings are in many respects still valid and pertinent to date (see also our comments to paragraph 25).
The EEAS has faced a number of political 
and financial challenges
21
Concerning the General Secretariat of the Council, 
the pattern was one of the progressive and rapid phasing out.
The EEAS did not treat as a priority the 
development of an overarching strategic framework for EU foreign policy, and did 
not adopt an internal strategy
25
Since the inception of her mandate, the HR/VP 
has repeatedly indicated that relations with stra -
tegic partners were among the priorities of EU foreign policy. How to make sure that the EU would Reply of  
the EEAS
Reply of the EEAS 27
34
With reference to indent (b) , the same applies to 
reports issued by civilian CSDP missions.
In figures, 70 Heads of Delegation out of the 140 
have a security authorisation. This is a process that takes time due to the involvement of national services. However, since its creation the EEAS has realised considerable progress on that topic and 
the trend is still improving. Our objective is to reach 
a situation where every HoD has the appropriate level of security clearance. In order to do so min -
istries of foreign affairs will be informed that their candidates should already have as much as possible a security clearance.
With respect to classified information, registers are 
in place within the Delegations that have to deal with EU CONFIDENTIAL documents and above. RCOs (registry control officers) are trained and prepared 
to deal with these classified documents.
As regards the classified systems: All the delega -
tions have the possibility to send and receive 
information of EU RESTRICTED level and below — including reports on this level of information. The 
same system combines political and intelligence 
reporting.
Twenty-three delegations are currently equipped 
with systems allowing the sending and receipt of information of until level EU SECRET. This number 
will increase to 30 at the end of the year 2014 and 
the target for mid-2016 is 60. The system combines also the two kinds of reporting here.
Finally, a complete reworking of the classified infor -
mation systems is ongoing with the objective to 
transform the still heterogeneous current systems 
into one ‘EEAS Corporate’ system. The latter should be operational in 2016.EU special representatives are not 
sufficiently integrated in the EEAS
36
Besides their mission of ensuring consistency and 
coherence of Union action, the EUSRs support the 
work of the HR/VP , in their respective regions or 
thematic areas. They play an important role in the development of a stronger and more effective EU foreign and security policy (CFSP) and in the Union’s efforts to become a more effective, more coherent and more capable actor on the world stage. They provide the EU with an active political presence in 
key countries and regions, acting as a ‘voice’ and 
‘face’ for the EU and its policies.
37
In principle, the EUSRs coordinate their actions with relevant EU actors. For example, as stated in Article 12(2) — Coordination of the Council Deci -
sion 2011/426/CFSP of 18 July 2011 appointing the EUSR in BiH: In support of Union crisis manage -
ment operations, the EUSR, with other Union actors present in the field, shall improve the dissemination and sharing of information by those Union actors 
with a view to achieving a high degree of common 
situation awareness and assessment.
However it is true that their integration into the 
structures represents a challenge.
38
However, as stated in their mandate, … The EUSR shall be responsible for the implementation of the mandate, acting under the authority of the HR … 
The EUSR shall work in close coordination with 
the European External Action Service (EEAS) — These provisions reduce considerably the scope of ‘discretion’.
Reply of the EEAS 28
The EEAS faced difficulties in staffing 
critical functions with the resources 
transferred
43
Please see comment on paragraph 34.
44
The EEAS has been conceived in a way to favour 
cross-fertilisation between the cultures of the national diplomatic services of the EU Member States and the staff coming from the European insti -
tutions. It was intended since the beginning that 
the seconded staff would essentially be rotating. 
The national experts who are seconded to the EEAS have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the operational side of European policies and with the European structures. These aspects are undoubtedly representing a benefit for their 
respective administrations.
The recruitment procedures were 
lengthy, costly and did not fully correct 
pre-existing imbalances
47
Interviews in Brussels for the candidates to posi -
tions of Head of Delegation is deemed necessary as 
they would be occupying challenging management 
positions outside headquarters. 
Although it does sometimes happen that final inter -
views for Head of Delegation positions by the HR/
VP need to be rescheduled owing to unavoidable 
changes in her diary, every effort is made to ensure 
that candidates are always notified of the change in the date and/or time of their interview before they have to travel.
48
The EEAS did analyse the possible advantages of using assessment centres for managerial positions. We reached the conclusion that they did not repre -
sent an optimal solution for an institution like ours, in particular during a start-up phase and in pres -
ence of the obligation of rapidly fulfilling the quota of Member States diplomats.39
The Commission is responsible for the financial implementation of the Council decisions adopted 
for each mandate of the respective EUSRs. Most of 
the EUSRs’ budgets relate to staffing and logistical expenditure which can be seen as administrative expenditure by their nature, but are currently man -
aged as operational expenditure because of their source of financing under the CFSP budget. This 
set-up gives rise to a different set of procedures 
which is not optimal and the main reason is that each EUSR has to set up and manage its own office and handle all administrative, logistic, contractual and financial matters with very few staff and the challenge to have all the necessary specialised 
knowledge and experience to run an office. In 2013, 
the amount committed for the EUSRs under the CFSP budget was 23.5 million.
This could be improved substantially if the support 
staff and functions were brought together through 
one of the following options:
 — integration into the European External Action Service;
 — integration in a shared-service centre;
 — creation of a specific support cell.
Under the current situation, the EUSRs receive extensive support from FPI in certain areas (in par -
ticular on finance and contracts, procurement, use of FWCs for essential services and equipment) and also from the EEAS. The EEAS provides extensive logistical support (offices, office furniture, IT and communication equipment and services) formal -
ised through MOUs. The Brussels-based EUSRs are 
co-located in the EEAS premises and the double-
hatted EUSRS, as Head of Delegation and located outside the EU, share the offices and services with the Delegation they are based in.
However, whatever integration option would be 
taken in the future, the EUSRs would still need to 
report on their activities separately from the EEAS, because specific provisions in the Treaty will con -
tinue to apply to them.
Reply of the EEAS 29
Furthermore, the weekly EEAS COO-DEVCO DG 
meeting and the weekly meeting with the Cabinet of the Commissioner responsible for Enlargement 
and European Neighbourhood Policy, are important 
examples as well. In addition to periodic meetings, 
other coordination mechanisms have contributed to 
the effectiveness of the EEAS Commission collabo -
ration. Written agreements (e.g. The EEAS Commis -
sion Working Arrangements, see paragraph 56) as 
well as Committees (e.g. EUDEL, see paragraph 60) 
are good examples of such mechanisms.
56
The EU Situation Room mainly deals with political 
crises and major natural disasters outside the EU.
The European Emergency Response Centre (EERC) 
mainly deals with natural disasters outside and 
inside the EU, according to EU legislation on human -
itarian aid and civil protection.
To encourage synergies and minimise overlaps, co-
location of the EERC and the EU Situation Room was 
proposed in the EEAS Review in 2013.
The new set-up of EU delegations 
demands more coordination work and its administrative management is less 
efficient
57
The EEAS fully shares the Court’s analysis on the 
financial circuits in delegations which is also valid for the CFSP budget, in particular as regards the 
efficient management of the budget of civilian 
CSDP missions.
59
The rule applicable to the relations between HQ and the Delegations, as agreed between the EEAS and the Commission, is that all Heads of Delega -
tions should be informed of all instructions coming 
from HQ to Delegations and should see all report -
ing from their Delegation to HQ.49
Taking the figures of February 2014 it’s true that 
women represent a lower percentage than men for 
the category of administrator, but the percentage of 
women in management positions has increased up to 25.5 %.
Notwithstanding the inherited geographical 
imbalance, the EEAS has made significant efforts 
to recruit MS diplomats coming from the ‘new’ 
Member States. As of February 2014, 29 % of the MS diplomats in management position are from the ‘new’ Member States.
As regards gender and geographical balance, the 
success rate of women who apply remains higher 
than for men, but the problem is getting enough application forms by women.
On geographical imbalance, it may depend which 
figures have been used : In the 2013 staffing report, 
we highlight an increase from 16.9 to 18.6 % of EU-12 at AD level where the size of these countries correspond to 20.6 %, so not far off and improv -
ing fast. On ASTs we went from 12.7 % to 16.1 % in 1 year. For contract agents the figures are lower.
50
The programme of the preposting seminars aiming at preparing staff for a first post in a delegation has indeed been adapted to the needs of newly nomi -
nated colleagues. During the annual seminars for staff in delegations, training related to diplomatic tasks has also been systematically organised.
Coordination with the Commission was 
partly effective
54
More effort arguably needs to be made to bring in 
the CSDP structures to improve coordination both with the Commission and within the EEAS itself.
Reply of the EEAS 30
64
It should indeed be recalled that consular protec -
tions remains a national competence, therefore 
delegations do not provide direct assistance to EU 
citizens. Delegations support the MS in facilitat -
ing cooperation and in helping them to provide assistance to unrepresented citizens. This is done in a number of countries. One recent example is South Sudan where the delegation helped the local 
coordination of evacuation unrepresented citizens 
(main nationalities of unrepresented citizens: Italy, Belgium, Finland, Portugal, Sweden, Ireland, Greece, Denmark) other examples are Lebanon and Philip -
pines just to mention the most recent cases.
The potential benefits from having the 
EEAS as permanent chair of Council preparatory bodies have not been fully 
realised
Common reply to paragraphs 65–67
This is, indeed, still work in progress. However, 
the stability and growing experience in the Chair brought by those who have been doing the job 
has resulted in many benefits, and the further 
development of their role, notably in how working parties and committees engage with third parties through third country visits and regular chair’s dia -
logues with third countries, civil society and other 
stakeholders.
65
There are several Council Working Parties that deal 
with the external dimension of internal policies such as COTER (external dimension of terrorism), 
JAIEX (external dimension of justice and home 
affairs policies). These, however, are chaired by the rotating Presidency, within the sectorial domains they concern.60
This dual system (COMDEL-EUDEL) does lead to mul -
tiple debates on the same issues, delays in decision-making and can be an obstacle to direct contacts between the EEAS and Commission services. How -
ever, in recent months the EUDEL format has been adjusted and now takes place at director’s level, more suited for decision-making. We nevertheless agree that the coordination of the management of delegations would be less complicated if only one ‘forum’, the EUDEL, existed.
Member States and the EEAS have not 
yet fully exploited the potential for synergies between their networks of 
diplomatic representations
63
In addition to the 4 co-location projects already exist -
ing, 8 co-location projects with different Member 
States have been established since the creation of the EEAS, in 7 third countries. Other co-location projects 
are under examination and we are confident that this 
practise will develop further. Co-locations represent a priority for the EEAS not only for practical and eco
-
nomic reasons but also for their symbolic value.
As regards report-sharing between EU institutions 
and Member States, there is a more systematic and 
standardised system, at headquarters and delega -
tion level. The EEAS continues the practise of sharing reports about summits, EU and bilateral meetings, visits, etc. via COREU as previously done by the rotat
-
ing EU presidency. The EU delegations also share a number of EU coordination meetings at different levels such as Heads of Mission, Deputy Heads of 
Mission, Economic and Trade Affairs, Cooperation, 
Press, Information and Culture, etc. Joint EU HOMs reports are also regularly produced by EU delegations and EU Member States embassies in third countries. Delegations also regularly distribute other reports, 
analytical surveys and assessments, and e-notes. The 
EEAS is also distributing on daily basis LTTs (Line-to-take) on significant events in international affairs. The LTTs are an efficient way to make known the EU line on international policy issues or on other issues of international relevance, such as economic and trade issues, migration, security, etc. EU delegations nor
-
mally distribute regularly LTTs to EU Member States embassies in third countries.
Reply of the EEAS 31
Conclusions and recommendations
71
During the first months after the EEAS kick-off, 
all administrative services had put the focus on 
streamlining processes which were before totally 
or partially done with support of the Commission services (HR, IT, …). In 2012, and especially in 2013, the reorganisation of the EEAS headquarter struc -
ture, the redeployment of 20 AD posts from head -
quarters to delegations and the Zero-Based Review reallocation of delegations’ resources are the first 
initiatives to improve efficiency in planning and 
allocation of resources.
The adoption of the EEAS staff appraisal system 
in 2012 and subsequent launch of the first exercise 
in 2013 are meant to lay the foundation of a more 
comprehensive and integrated approach to perfor -
mance management.
This process is expected to gradually strengthen 
the link between the staff inputs and EEAS priori -
ties, for the benefit of the institution’s efficiency 
and effectiveness.
EEAS efficiency will actually improve through 
a closer alignment between organisational and 
individuals’ objectives.
72
Since 2012 there are regular working meetings 
between EEAS and DEVCO HR teams dealing with post management in delegations which represents 
relevant contributions to EEAS-COM coordination 
improvements.
Also HR systems, such as SYSPER2, have been re-
engineered to improve the co-management (Job 
Context system).66
It is in the nature of CFSP that most of the policy 
areas that it covers are those related to unplanna -
ble and unpredictable events and the need for an urgent response to crisis. The real advantages of having a permanent chair are: 
(1) Having a continuous interlocutor for political dia -
logue and consultation with third countries. To take 
one example, the PSC Chair has been able to revive 
a moribund dialogue with the United States, who were previously uninterested in meeting a new in -
terlocutor every 6 months.
(2) The avoidance of policy priorities being set accord -
ing to the political exigencies of delivering within a 6-month period. Policies such as the strategies on maritime security or Gulf of Guinea were prepared gradually and thoroughly over a much longer time -
frame and are better products.
67
The operation of coordination between bodies chaired by three different Presidencies (EEAS, rotat -
ing Presidency and Chair of the European Council) 
when dealing with the same policy area is a com -
plex task. To note also that the coordination process 
is made more complicated than necessary by the fact that the mandates of Council bodies have not been changed since the Lisbon Treaty, meaning that divisions of responsibility along CFSP/non-CFSP 
lines do not always reflect the different responsibili -
ties held by EEAS, Commission and Council.
Reply of the EEAS 32
73 (e)
The EEAS takes note of the Court’s recommendation 
and shares the spirit of it. However it reiterates its 
doubts about the use of assessment centres at the 
present state of development of EEAS HR policies.
73 (f)
The EEAS accepts this recommendation which would be extended to cover the management of CSDP civilian missions. Proposals are currently 
discussed with the Commission and the EEAS will 
continue to plea for a simplification of the financial 
management framework of delegations.
73 (g)
The EEAS accepts this recommendation and points 
out that on colocation, intense and fruitful contacts are ongoing with EU Member States and other 
EU institutions such as EIB. On consular services, 
bilateral contacts with Member States have taken place to understand their specific needs and expec -
tations. All progress in this area is dependent on Member States’ agreement.73 (a)
The EEAS takes note of the Court’s recommendation and is already addressing it in the context of the 
EEAS Review. 
73 (b)
The EEAS is not convinced by the necessity and 
feasibility of a new overarching strategic framework 
for EU foreign affairs and security policy, for the rea -
sons presented above (see reply to paragraph 25). 
However it is open to re-examine the matter with the Council and the Commission, in the future.
73 (c)
The EEAS accepts this recommendation. At the same time the EEAS emphasises the efforts already made to assure internal and interinstitutional coher -
ence and reiterate its intention to further progress in this area in close coordination with other con -
cerned EU institutions and EU Member States.
73 (d)
The EEAS accepts this recommendation. Proposals were made to the Council and the Commission and will continue to be discussed.
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QJ-AB-14-011-EN-C  ISSN 1831-0834
The Lisbon Treaty created a new EU foreign 
affairs chief, the High Representative for  
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who is also Vice-President of the European Commission. The High Representative is supported by a new diplomatic corps known as the European External Action Service (EEAS). This report 
addressed the question of whether the setting 
up of the EEAS has been managed effectively.  
It concludes both that the EEAS was established 
without adequate preparation and that its 
efficiency was impaired by shortcomings in its 
management of resources. The Court also found 
that, although coordination between the EEAS 
and both the Commission and Member States 
was improving, it was still inadequate.
EUROPEAN
COURT
OF AUDITORS