EU diplomatic arm must provide better support to Union ‘embassies’ abroad

• The European External Action Service (EEAS) implements the EU’s foreign and security policy, together with the EU institutions. Its coordination with the Council, Commission and EU delegations worldwide mostly works effectively - reports the European Court of Auditors.
• EU delegations do not receive enough feedback or timely guidance from the EEAS on their planning and political reporting
• The EEAS’s role in coordinating the EU’s external action is mostly effective, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors. Coordination at its Brussels headquarters, as well as with the EU delegations that represent the EU around the world and with the European Commission and the Council of the EU, mostly works well. However, the EEAS should improve not only its interaction with EU delegations but also the secure exchange of information, as several areas of its information management were not fit for purpose.
• The EEAS was created in 2011 by the Lisbon Treaty to assist the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP), who is also a Vice-President of the Commission and the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Council that brings together EU foreign ministers. Given this rather complex arrangement and the EEAS’s key role in facilitating the EU’s diplomatic relations with non-EU countries and international organisations, coordination with the Council, the Commission and the 145 EU delegations under the EEAS’s wing is vitally important.
• “Foreign policy, and the way it is implemented and coordinated, are vital for the EU, especially given recent events, in particular Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” said Marek Opiola, the ECA member who led the audit. “Although the EEAS mostly performs its coordinating role well, we are sounding a warning about information management, reporting and staffing challenges.”
• The EEAS carried out a comprehensive self-review in 2021, and subsequently took measures to update its structure and become more effective in its geopolitical role. The auditors say this review was valuable, and that the EEAS’s working methods improved as a result. They also found that its coordination with the Commission and the Council works effectively. Over 50 % of EU ambassadors surveyed by the auditors welcomed the updated working arrangements, though fewer than three out of 10 regarded the new structure as having a positive impact on their delegation’s performance.
• EU delegations help to formulate EU foreign policy through political reporting to headquarters. However, despite such frequent communication, this reporting is often a one-way street, as the delegations do not receive sufficient, timely feedback. There is also a lack of feedback from headquarters when it comes to annual planning, and some ambassadors had not received a mission letter for their mandate. However, the delegations did receive clear instructions from headquarters as regards the diplomatic procedures (‘démarches’) to follow, for example before voting at the UN.
• The EEAS and EU delegations handle a significant amount of information that needs to be dealt with securely. However, the auditors found weaknesses in information management by the EEAS, which lacks tools for effective collaboration and knowledge management. IT shortcomings also hamper the sharing of information. Several ambassadors in the delegations complained that the EEAS’s key system for exchanging classified information was too cumbersome for the internet speeds in their countries, and that the current IT tools for secure communication were not sustainable. In addition, some of the IT tools the delegations use for sharing information securely are too complex or not user-friendly enough, and have thus not been widely adopted.
• In 2022, EU funding for the EEAS, including the delegations and the Commission’s staff, was over one billion euros, accounting for a total of 8 103 staff in 2023. The HR/VP’s role is to ensure that the EU’s external action is consistent, while the EU delegations represent the EU externally in non-EU countries or international organisations. More and more EU policies have an external dimension, and most EU delegations now assume a broader foreign policy role.
• Special report 02/2024, “The coordination role of the European External Action Service: mostly working effectively, but some weaknesses in information management, staffing and reporting”, is available on the ECA website. This is the third ECA audit of the EEAS, following audits of its establishment and buildings worldwide. The report covered the period from September 2021 – when the EEAS started implementing new working methods and updated its structure – until April 2023.

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