EU considers dismantling diplomatic service

According to several people familiar with developments in Brussels, the plan is expected to be completed by the end of this year, the Financial Times reported.

Senior officials have begun examining which functions of the European External Action Service (EEAS), headed by Kaja Kallas, could be absorbed by existing departments of the European Commission.

The plans, involving officials from the Commission’s secretariat-general as well as its legal and budget departments, aim to reduce duplication and better align the EU’s diplomatic work with the Commission’s powers over trade, aid, digital regulation and technology.

The initiative would not turn the EEAS entirely into a Commission department, effectively creating a large directorate for foreign policy, sources said. Instead, it would split its existing functions among different departments to improve efficiency.

Supporters argue that moving much of the EEAS into the Commission would make EU foreign policy more coherent and reduce foreign policy costs, as national capitals push for cuts to the bloc’s next long-term budget.

The plans are at an early stage and could still change, the sources cautioned.

The plans are expected to be further developed ahead of next month’s EU leaders’ summit, which Paris and Berlin — the bloc’s two largest economies and leading diplomatic powers — want to use to discuss reform proposals.