The Financial Times reported on 11 June that France had proposed several possible reforms in discussions with Germany and other partners. The plans are intended to address problems within an EU body that critics regard as ossified and unable to respond quickly enough to international crises. Its abolition or radical reduction is now among the options under discussion.
The European External Action Service (EEAS) is responsible for maintaining the EU’s diplomatic relations with countries outside the bloc. It is headed by Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, a vice-president of the European Commission and a former Estonian prime minister.
Three Paths to Reform
Several diplomats told the newspaper that one cause of the office’s limited effectiveness is the overlap between the roles of the European Commission and the separate European External Action Service.
The Commission is the bloc’s long-standing executive body and is currently headed by its president, former German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen. The EEAS, meanwhile, is the EU’s diplomatic service and began operating in 2011.
The French proposal, which has not been officially adopted, outlines three possible reforms. The first would place all EU foreign affairs under the European Commission. The second would transfer the diplomatic service’s functions to the Council of the European Union, which represents the member states. The third would strengthen the role of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy as part of a broader institutional reorganization.
The first two options would effectively mean the disappearance of the EEAS in its current form. Under the third, however, Kallas would gain more power within the European Commission. She would become its “first executive vice-president” and oversee commissioners and departments responsible for a wide range of policies, including external relations, trade and economic development.
The proposal would therefore strengthen her position within the Commission, where she is currently one of six executive vice-presidents and shares oversight of several policy areas. Under the third option, the post would also be more closely linked to the leaders of the EU’s national governments.
The EEAS has an annual budget of about €1bn ($1.2bn). Transferring some of its powers to departments within the European Commission and the Council of the European Union could save money by reducing staff numbers. Sanctions lists and proposals for military missions, for example, could be handled by the Council, while day-to-day diplomacy would be overseen by the Commission.
Kallas Welcomes Debate
On the day the French proposal became public, Kallas said the relationship between the EEAS, the European Commission and member states “has been discussed since the Service was established”, adding that she welcomed the debate. She acknowledged that the system could work better and with less duplication in Brussels.
However, she stressed that the roles and responsibilities of the EU institutions are “clearly defined” in the treaties underpinning the bloc.
“That framework remains unchanged”, she said. “What matters most is that we continue to strengthen the Union’s collective ability to act.”
An EU diplomat argued that the requirement for unanimity among member states on foreign policy was a greater obstacle than the institutional structure itself.
“It’s this Brussels bubble illusion that we can reform policies by institution-building. No, we need to streamline decision-making”, the diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
Criticism has come from many sides. Politico reported that national capitals and EU officials regard EU diplomacy as “too slow-moving, institutionally dysfunctional and victim of an escalating turf war between the EEAS and the Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen”. The outlet also quoted an EU diplomat who said the leaked document had not been approved by the French foreign minister or his aides and did not reflect an official French position.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in a speech in March that the EU needed a stronger diplomatic service.
Criticism of Kallas has persisted since she took office in December 2024, succeeding Spain’s Josep Borrell. On her first visit after taking office, she traveled to Kyiv and declared that “the European Union wants Ukraine to win this war”. She added that the bloc would do whatever it took to support that goal.
Some Brussels diplomats criticized her approach, arguing that she had informally overstepped the limits of her mandate. Similar concerns have been raised over her response to the policies of US President Donald Trump and her approach to the EU’s relations with China. Several diplomats have accused her of speaking on behalf of the bloc before its member states had agreed on a common position.
Although some European politicians have criticized Kallas for continuing to behave like a national prime minister, her positions have won support in northern and eastern Europe. Governments in those regions often take a harder line on Russia than her Spanish predecessor did.
A Clash at the Top
The Financial Times also pointed to a broader power struggle between two women occupying leading positions in the EU. The EEAS, headed by Kallas, and the European Commission, led by von der Leyen, have competed for influence over foreign and security policy.
In autumn 2025, von der Leyen proposed creating a unit to pool intelligence from the services of EU member states. A similar body, the EU Intelligence and Situation Centre, already operates within the EEAS. Senior officials in Kallas’s service reportedly opposed the creation of the new unit.
European diplomats have spoken both publicly and anonymously about tensions between the two offices, attributing the rivalry partly to unclear boundaries between their responsibilities.
According to a senior official quoted by Politico, Kallas “privately complains that she [von der Leyen] is a dictator but there’s little or nothing she can do about that”.
The proposals now being considered could resolve some of those institutional conflicts. They could also dismantle Kallas’s diplomatic service, reduce its role to strategy or give her considerably greater authority within the European Commission. Whatever model emerges, the debate has exposed widespread dissatisfaction with the way the EU conducts its foreign policy.