ABSTRACT
The pivotal aim of bringing the European External Action Service (EEAS) into life as a supportive instrument for the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR) was to strengthen the EU's capacity in delivering consistent external action. The member states wanted to preserve their exclusive competences over the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Defence and Security Policy (CDSP), while the European Parliament aimed for more power over the decisions made within the European Union's external actions. The European External Action Service has become an increasingly popular field of analysis over the last two years, attracting attention mainly from think tanks, but also from academia. It uses a multifaceted analysis framework that has made it possible to study intra-institutional, inter-institutional and inter-level coherence at the leadership level, at the level of the headquarters in Brussels, and at the level of on-the-ground European Union delegations.
