EU creates External Action Service

By Liu Dong

The EU inched closer Monday toward establishing a diplomatic organ to boost the global clout of the 27-member bloc, crippled by the lack of a unified voice on external relations, despite being the world's largest economic entity.

The European Parliament consented to giving support to the proposal submitted by Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief.

The organization, officially designated the External Action Service (EAS), will likely comprise 7,000 staff, including 4,500 diplomats, worldwide.

"The creation of the EAS, a vital mission after the Lisbon Treaty was enforced in December, will contribute to coordinating the diverging foreign polices of a number of member states," said Yang Fang, a researcher with the Institute of European Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

"We shouldn't underestimate how important today's decision is. This means we can … have it operational by autumn," Ashton said.

The organ's establishment, however, will be handicapped by a host of obstacles, Yang stressed, citing a lack of definite segregation of duties expected to complicate the task.

"Ashton is supposed to balance the differing voices, but the real power to engineer policies when tackling international affairs virtually rests with the veto-wielding members," Yang said, noting that the inherent mechanism flaws could not be overcome.

Furthermore, the unfavorable external environment will encumber the process, Yang added.

"The EU is currently split over devising an agreed solution to address the deteriorat-ing debt crisis, and the lack of unity will adversely impact the creation of an organization transcending the sovereign states," Yang said.

The budget is one of the key impediments, triggering months-long bickering that retarded the creation of the organ, which Aston proposed in March, according to the Financial Times.

An ultimate agreement reached Monday by the European Parliament helped ease the threat to the tenure of Ashton, the report said.

"Challenges notwithstanding, the EAS will further enhance the EU's comprehensive might in the international regime," Yang said.