On 1 December 2010, a year after the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, the European External Action Service (EEAS) was officially launched. One could ask, what for? Why now?
Even after one year's time, the EU's new supposed powerhouse for foreign policy is far from being up and running. EEAS boss Catherine Ashton's decision to organise merely a low key event in order to celebrate the service's birth therefore seems appropriate.
The EU advertised heavily that the new institution...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.