全球智库信息集成服务系统

Authors: Steven Blockmans and Sophia Russack

Series: CEPS Special Reports   No. of pages: 21

The reactivation of the Commissioners’ Group on External Action (CGEA) is one of the most important institutional initiatives in EU foreign policy-making since the merger of the position of the High Representative for CFSP with that of Vice-President of the Commission and the creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS).

In this report the authors examine the mandate and organisation of the CGEA and note that, in its first year of activity, the Group has injected much-needed political pragmatism into the way the Commission contributes to EU external action, thereby facilitating inter-service cooperation both within the Commission and with the EEAS. They argue that the CGEA has in fact become the logical counterpart to the Foreign Affairs Council, which allows the HRVP to deliver on her duty to assist the Council and the Commission in ensuring a comprehensive approach to EU external action, as indeed consistency in its implementation. 

Steven Blockmans is a Senior Research Fellow at CEPS and Professor of EU External Relations Law and Governance at the University of Amsterdam. Sophia Russack is an intern at the EU Institutions unit of CEPS.