What is it about?
The European Union (EU) today has quasi-embassies at its disposal in third countries — the EU delegations — which represent the Union’s eyes, ears and face. By employing performance criteria such as effectiveness, relevance and capability, this article uncovers the particularities of the practices of European diplomatic cooperation among EU delegations and national embassies in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. This article draws on fieldwork conducted in Minsk, Chisinau and Kiev from 2013–2016.
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Why is it important?
Findings show that by subsuming the role of the rotating Presidencies, the EU delegations became central actors in representation, but also became communication hubs on the ground and took the lead on cooperation with the EU member states’ embassies. While being obliged to cooperate on the ground, diplomatic practice shows that the current coexistence of national and EU diplomacy opts out of the common approach in favour of parallel actions by the individual EU member states.
Perspectives
This article looks at the on the ground practices of EU and national diplomatic representation. Evidence is gathered from 48 in-depth semi-structured interviews with twelve EU (of which seven EEAS and five Commission) and 34 national diplomats (and also two local staff members). The analytical focus is not on the EU’s diplomatic relationship with these countries per se, but rather on uncovering how the cooperation between the EU and its member states’ diplomatic representations adds to the EU’s aim of achieving a stronger, more efficient and coherent European Union foreign policy. By using the performance criteria of effectiveness, relevance and capabilities, this study addresses the criticisms that were raised before the Lisbon Treaty regarding European diplomatic cooperation, including lack of leadership, questions concerning representation, and hence the issue of continuity and coherence between the EU and EU member states in third countries.
Dr Dorina Baltag
Loughborough University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: eu External Representation Post-Lisbon: The Performance of eu Diplomacy in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, September 2018, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/1871191x-13010035.
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