Changing patterns of global power, reforms introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, and the economic crisis, have all challenged the aims, means and tools of EU foreign policy. The creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS) has changed the architecture of EU foreign policy- making. During 2013, the institutions and member states will be involved in its review. The aim should be to make the EEAS the centre of an EU system of diplomacy, bringing together EU and national elements, and strengthening the EU’s ability to make better use of its unique foreign policy resources and tools.
The EU needs to regain its position in foreign policy-making and take a firm hold of its external action instruments. How can this be achieved and what steps can and should be taken in the near future? These questions and others will be discussed by a high-level panel of policy-makers and experts, including: Erkki Tuomioja, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Pierre Vimont, Executive Secretary General of the EEAS, and Kristi Raik, Researcher at the FIIA. The event will be chaired by Rosa Balfour, EPC Senior Policy Analyst and Head of the Europe in the World Programme.
This Policy Dialogue will also mark the launch of a major new joint study by the EPC and the FIIA on ‘The European External Action Service and national diplomacies’.
The event is organized jointly by the European Policy Centre and the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.
For further information, please contact Kristi Raik.
Keynote speech by Erkki Tuomioja