ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts of the key concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The European External Action Service (EEAS) is a microcosm through which to explore the changing relationship between European Union (EU) member states and EU institutions in a field that is among the closest to the heart of national sovereignty: foreign and security policy. The book examines the ways in which the EEAS and European national diplomacies have adapted to the Lisbon Treaty innovations contributing towards restructuring European diplomacy in the broader regional and global context. It is important to underline that these generalizations point at perceptions of the process of EU integration, and that perceptions on the direction of the project of integration are not to be overlooked in a study of Europeanization of EU foreign policy. The distinction between domestic and foreign policies has become more and more blurred and challenged by the progressive internationalization of domestic policies and, increasingly, the domestication of foreign policy.
