EEAS at the Beginning of XXIst Century: Some Institutional Innovations in EU Diplomacy

Even since its beginnings, the EU manifested a constant concern for the development of a specific foreign policy pillar, at an institutional and strategic level, able to surpass the national one. This ambitious vision was progressively extended from a classical approach over foreign policy (a multilateral one, based on cooperation among the EU member states, within a field seen as “traditionally national”), towards a postmodern approach, with obvious supra-state elements. Today, EU diplomacy looks like one of the fundamental pillars of the ”United Europe” concept, of the ”Union” as distinct centre of power, with ambitions in developing a global strategic vision within the foreign policy field, at international level. The paper begins with the current EEAS organization, adding certain institutional innovations about EU diplomacy at the beginning of 21st century and about the way in which the general perception of EU, as global actor, could be improved.