Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 February 2005
114 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the implications for his Department of the establishment of the new European external action service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2815/05]
View answerThe European constitution provides for the creation of a European external action service, EEAS, the function of which is to assist the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs in the fulfilment of his or her mandate. The EEAS cannot be established until after the entry into force of the constitution, the target date for which is 1 November 2006. Preparatory work is at a very early stage, though discussion within the Council is expected to begin during the current Luxembourg Presidency. It is, therefore, too early to predict what the exact implications for the Department of Foreign Affairs of the creation of the EEAS will be.
The constitution stipulates that the EEAS is to work in co-operation with the diplomatic services of the member states, and that officials seconded from national diplomatic services are to form part of its staff. I assume, therefore, that some officers from the Department of Foreign Affairs will be seconded to the EEAS, and I also assume that in Brussels and internationally it will work closely with the Department and our missions abroad.
However, very many of the functions currently exercised by national diplomatic services, including the promotion and protection of national political, economic and cultural interests, will fall outside the EEAS's remit. It is also important to recall that decisions on the Union's external policies and actions, including in the framework of the common foreign and security policy, will remain solely for the European Council to make. The Government will need to remain well-informed on, and directly involved in, international political and economic issues and will, as now, continue to require the advice and support of the Department. The EEAS will, by definition, have no function in bilateral relations within the European Union nor in the formulation of national EU policies, which occupy a substantial proportion of the Department's time and resources.
