Webinar: From self-doubt to self-assurance: The European External Action Service as the indispensable support for a geopolitical EU

The 10th anniversary of the European External Action Service (EEAS) is an opportune moment to take stock of its contribution to developing EU foreign policy. At this webinar, a report published by several institutes, among them SIEPS, was presented, including recommendations on how to upgrade European diplomacy. The report was commented by the EEAS' present Secreatary General, among others.

Distilling key lessons from the first decade of the Service’s operation, this webinar presented the findings of a high-level Task Force that reappraised the EEAS’ actual and potential mission in the coming years, considering the dynamic ecosystem within which it functions. In its report (available here), the Task Force ‘EEAS 2.0’ sets out 30 recommendations to address the identified shortcomings. It aims to assist the EEAS’ purpose of forging a distinctly European brand of diplomacy, by upgrading its operation to allow it more flexibility to think, propose and act, more agility to factor in a rapidly changing international landscape, and more determination to play a leading role.

This session was run in Zoom, and you can watch a recording below.

Date

27 April 2021 11:30 - 13:00

Location

This session will be run in Zoom, you must register in advance to gain access to the meeting and the details to join will be sent one hour prior of the event.

Speakers

Pierre Vimont, Chair of the Task Force 'EEAS 2.0'
Stefano Sannino, Secretary General, EEAS
Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference
Renée Jones-Bos, Former Secretary General of the MFA of the Netherlands
Oda Sletnes, Ambassador of Norway to France
Vessela Tcherneva, Deputy Director of ECFR and Head of the Sofia office
Steven Blockmans, Director of Research, CEPS
Christophe Hillion, Senior Researcher at SIEPS and Professor of Law at the University of Oslo

Chair

Steven Blockmans, Director of Research, CEPS