ABSTRACT
Following the enactment of the Lisbon Treaty, the European External Action Service (EEAS) became a key player in the EU’s foreign policy. This article assesses and explains variations in the EEAS’ approach to the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region. It contends that EU Member States (MS) limit the discretion of the EEAS more in a bilateral than in a multilateral framework, thus accounting for varying degrees of political sensitivity. By restricting EEAS discretion to the level of bureaucratised politics especially in sensitive policy areas, MS miss the opportunity to bring “the political” back in and to make EEAS policy leadership more tangible.
