The European Union (EU) deployed its first police mission in 2003. Since then, the EU has deployed thirty-four missions around the world. Considering the great financial burden to the EU budget and the budget of contributing Member States (MS), as well as the fact that the realm of defence is one of the most overdue areas of the European integration project, this thesis asks the general but multifaceted question of where EU missions come from. To address this question the thesis explores the historic origins of EU missions, conceptualises them in view of the conceptual and theoretical developments in the literature and policy practice, and develops a model for the analysis of the decision-making process behind the deployment of EU missions. The model is tested on three case studies, namely the three EU missions deployed in the Horn of Africa European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) Atalanta, European Union Training Mission (EUTM) Somalia and European Union Capacity Building Mission (EUCAP) Nestor. The findings of the analysis reveal a gradual evolution of EU crisis management after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and the establishment of the European External Action Service. The analysis indicates that EUNAVFOR Atalanta was primarily deployed due to French impetus at the level of the Political and Security Committee (PSC), but also due to a convincing call of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to the international community to act against the significant increase of piracy activity in the Gulf of Aden in 2008. The EUTM Somalia mission was primarily deployed due to a convincing strategy from the strategic planners at the EEAS, as well as the commitment of the United States (US) to a partnership with the EU to train recruits of the Somali Security Forces (SSF). Finally, the analysis of the third case study reveals even greater impact from the strategic planners at the EEAS and the acceptance at all levels of the EU s Comprehensive Approach to crisis management, and in particular due to the influential Strategic Framework for the Horn of Africa document. The overall interpretation of the findings conclude that the foreign policy of the EU is a moving target, constantly changing, as is exemplified by both the historic overview and the analysis of the three case studies, and that the analysts of EU foreign policy must remain open to these changes when choosing modes of studying EU foreign policy.

Bátora alleges that political accountability has been “almost entirely overlooked” (2010, 2) in studies of the European External Action Service. An examination of the subject that extends previous studies on agency design, the co-decision procedure, the “democratic deficit,” and European Union foreign policy would resolve the neglect. As a result, the study derives a hypothesis from an established theory of bureaucratic structure. Findings suggest that during the design of EU agencies co-decision power improves the ability of the European Parliament to institutionalize methods of accountability to it.

The primary aim of this essay and qualitative case study is to identify different explanations of why the European External Action Service (EEAS) was organised and why it resulted in today’s organisation. Existing research not entirely updated highlighted the need for new information. Furthermore, since existing research mostly focuses on other aspects, such as the character of EU foreign policy or the role of the EU internationally, this motivated an alternative approach. Three main branches of New Institutionalism (rational choice, historical and sociological) constitute a theoretical framework, aimed at identifying explanations perhaps not earlier contemplated. Findings suggest for example that a major reason for the organisation of this service is due to self-interest maximising, increasing the EUs political and economic influence by acting more coherent. The need to attain legitimacy and resemble other established actors by adopting institutionalised practices and structures in the homogeneous diplomatic field is another explanation. The Service is partially organised the way it is because of the successes of major EU institutions and the member states in ‘locking-in’ their preferences. Organisational characteristics can also be explained as results of several historical, institutional upgrades in relation to earlier treaties and debates on the future of Europe.

Le Service Européen pour l'Action Extérieure (SEAE ou Service) est une des innovations les plus importantes introduites par le Traité de Lisbonne. Il est également l'une des plus controversées, étant donné l'importance symbolique du premier service diplomatique métanational. Cette analyse vise à démontrer que le SEAE ne sert ni à mettre en place, ni à démonter une politique étrangère monolithique pour toute l'Union. Il devrait plutôt chercher à promouvoir l'harmonie entre les différentes actions externes qui existent déjà. Le Service, en d'autres termes, est l'expression d'une nouvelle approche de l'intégration européenne, qui ne propose pas la renonciation aux compétences des États Membres, mais vise à coordonner les politiques des institutions de l'UE et de ses membres, afin d'assurer leur cohérence. / The European External Action Service (EEAS or Service) is one of the most significant innovations introduced by the Lisbon Treaty. It is also one of the most debated, given the symbolic importance attached to this unprecedented non-national diplomatic service. This analysis intends to demonstrate that the EEAS is not a champion of the traditional approaches to European integration. The Service is functional neither to set up, nor to dismantle, a monolithic foreign policy of the Union, but it should rather seek to promote harmony between the different external actions that already exist. In other words, the Service is the expression of a novel approach to European integration, which does not postulate the renounce to the Member States' sovereignty, but rather seeks the coordination of the different European external actions.

It is more than a decade since the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, and the European External Action Service (EEAS) was founded to unify the EU's foreign policy and make it more coherent and consistent. With the creation of the EEAS, the Commission delegations were transformed into EU delegations, and the delegations started to represent the whole EU abroad politically. The Lisbon Treaty clearly strengthened the EU foreign policy and arguably gave the EU a common voice in the world. However, the speed at which the transformation took, and takes place, is not the same in all third (non-EU) countries where the EU is present. Many scholars argue that there is still a lack of consistency in EU foreign policy, and some aspects of EU external action after Lisbon are still understudied, such as EU external action in specific regions. Against this backdrop, and within a theoretical framework of Frauke Austermann’s theory of a European diplomatic service of “different speeds,” this thesis examines the consistency of the political role between EU delegations in selected Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries in an attempt to answer the following research question: How consistent is the political role between EU delegations in the MENA region twelve years after the founding of the EEAS and the political sections of the delegations? This is done by conducting and analysing semi-structured interviews with diplomats working in the political sections of fourteen of the sixteen EU delegations in the region. With the help of a qualitative content analysis method, the consistency of the political role is examined by investigating the function of the political sections, their main tasks within the respective delegations and their relations and interaction with headquarters in Brussels, EU member states’ (EUMS) foreign missions and host country authorities. The findings of this thesis show that a few observations of the interviewees could put the consistency of the political role into question. The main issues concerned malfunctioning cooperation between the sections of the delegations, the influence of specific EUMSs on the work of the delegations and the poor staffing (although this was a rather consistent issue). Yet, for the most part, based on the aspects studied in this thesis, the political role proved to be very consistent between the delegations of the region.

La présente étude est consacrée à la naissance d'une diplomatie européenne sous le regard polonais. À travers l'histoire de la construction européenne, il s'agit d'analyser la marche vers la mise en place du Service européen pour l'action extérieure (SEAE). Lancé en 2010 sous l'autorité du Haut Représentant de l'Union pour les affaires étrangères et la politique de sécurité, il devait réformer en profondeur les relations extérieures de l'Union européenne et lui permettre de s'affirmer en tant qu'acteur sur la scène internationale. Le regard de la Pologne permet de saisir plus concrètement les enjeux politiques et stratégiques liés à la création d'une diplomatie commune de l'UE. Deux aspects de cette diplomatie européenne sont étudiés : son visage et son appareil. Cette étude s'intéresse aux développements successifs de la représentation extérieure de l'UE dans la perspective de l'émergence d'une diplomatie européenne de réseaux. Elle démontre que la création du SEAE a provoqué des mouvements tectoniques dans l'architecture institutionnelle européenne et à l'intérieur des appareils diplomatiques nationaux. / The present study deals with the birth of a European diplomacy from the Polish point of view. Throughout the history of the European construction, the aim is to analyze the progress towards the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS). Launched in 2010 under the authority of the High Représentative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and the Security Policy, it had to reform in depth the external relations of the European Union (EU) and allow it to assert itself as an actor on the international stage. The Polish approach enables to grasp more concretely the political and stratégie issues related to the création of a common EU diplomacy. Two aspects of this European diplomacy are studied : its face and its apparatus. This study examines the successive developments of the EU external représentation in the context of the emergence of European diplomacy networks. It demonstrates that the EEAS has caused tectonic movements in the European institutional architecture and within national diplomatie services.

This diploma thesis deals with strategies of promoting Czechs as ambassadors of the EU (HoD) since the launch of the European External Action Service to the present. The main research goal of this thesis is to find out whether the Czech Republic promotes its candidates to the HoD positions in the countries of its priority interests. So far, a Czech citizen has become an HoD in six cases. These cases are confronted with a categorization of priority countries of the Czech Republic which has been elaborated by the author. Then, the Czech activities in promoting citizens are analysed based on interviews with relevant employees of the Czech state organs. These actions are consequently put into categorization of lobbying methods of the smaller states in the EU. Based on the categorization of the Czech territorial priorities, it can be claimed that the Czechs have not been sent as HoDs to the countries of the Czech interests so far. Even their other applications have not been meant to place them to the countries of the Czech interests. On the other hand, there is a bulk of activities embraced by the Czech Republic to reverse this trend. First, the Czech administration exacerbates networking and informal meetings among the Czechs based in Brussels. Second, the Czech state officials have developed formal...

Depuis 1999, l’Union européenne a inauguré une nouvelle approche dans ses relations avec l’Amérique latine et les Caraïbes. A cet égard, le premier sommet Union européenne – Amérique latine – Caraïbes, dit « sommet de Rio » marque un tournant grâce au lancement du « partenariat stratégique ». Dans ce cadre, toutes les organisations régionales d’intégration économique situées dans cette zone géographique, et non pas uniquement le MERCOSUR, apparaissent comme des partenaires importants. Le changement obéit autant à des contraintes externes qu’à une stratégie extérieure. Dans le domaine des échanges commerciaux, le but déclaré est d’atteindre « une libéralisation mutuelle des échanges » sur une base équitable et mutuellement profitable tout en défendant certaines valeurs communes. Cependant, le cadre juridique longtemps en vigueur s’est avéré inadapté à l’avènement d’une ambition économique et politique d’une telle ampleur. Par conséquent, l’Union européenne se trouve confrontée au défi de réformer les cadres juridiques de ses relations avec les organisations régionales d’intégration économique d’Amérique latine et des Caraïbes. La thèse analyse l’évolution et la restructuration actuelles des instruments juridiques des relations entre l’Union européenne l’Amérique latine et les Caraïbes. / Since 1999, the European Union began a new competitive approach in its relationships with Latin America and the Caribbean. In this respect, the first step has been made in the European Union-Latin America and Caribbean’ Summit [Rio Summit (1999)] with the launch of a new partnership called “Strategic Partnership”. In this context, all organisations of regional economic integration – not only the MERCOSUR the most competitive one – are considered as important partners. The change is due to external constraints as well as an external strategy. In the field of commercial exchanges, the goal is to attempt “mutual liberalisation of exchanges” on a fair and mutually profitable basis, defending at the same time “common values”. However, the traditional legal framework of the relations is obviously unsuitable for such an ambitious economic and political project. So, from a legal aspect, the European Union is confronted with the challenge of reforming the contractual frameworks of its relations with regional economic integrations in Latin America and in the Caribbean. The issue concerns an analysis of the evolution and restructuring of existing legal instruments of the European Union’s relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. / Desde 1999, la Unión Europea instauró un nuevo enfoque en sus relaciones con América Latina y el Caribe. En este enfoque llamado “estratégico”, todas las organiza-ciones comarcales de integración económicas ubicadas en esta zona geográfica y no úni-camente el MERCOSUR, se pueden ver como interlocutores importantes. La primera cumbre Unión Europea /América latina/Caribe (cumbre de Rio) es una fecha importante en la evolución de las relaciones gracias al lanzamiento “de la colaboración estratégica”. En lo que toca a los intercambios comerciales, la meta declarada es alcanzar una “liberalización mutual de los intercambios” a partir de una base equitativa y mutualmente provechosa de-fendiendo a la vez ciertos valores comunes. Sin embargo, el marco jurídico en vigor durante una larga temporada se ha reve-lado inadecuado para el advenimiento de una ambición económica y política de esta impor-tancia. Por consiguiente, la Unión Europea se enfrenta hoy en día al desafío jurídico de la renovación del marco convencional de sus relaciones con las organizaciones de integración económica de América Latina y del Caribe. El asunto se refiere a un análisis de las rela-ciones exteriores de la Unión Europea desde el punto de vista de los desafíos jurídicos. Utilizamos el análisis sistémico para poner de relieve los factores explicativos de la evolu-ción y de la reestructuración actuales de los instrumentos jurídicos de las relaciones entre la Unión Europea y América-Latina Caribe.

Topic of this diploma work is Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) - legal aspects. CFSP is one of policie sof EU based on intergovermental cooperation in foreign relations and defence policy which includes Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The second part of the diploma work describes history of CFSP from WW 2 to describing of Treaty on European Union (TEU). The third part of diploma work describe CFSP of EU in TEU from 90's to current wording. Main topics are instruments and institutions and voting procedure. Marginally I write something about Common Commercial Policy and Cooperation with Third States in the fourth part of diploma work. The last part of diploma work is about the CSDP and EU millitary and civil missions. The content of the work is about CFSP and related issues, therefore I write the basic information about CFSP below. CFSP (as Europian polical cooperation) was established in 70's in last century by member's states for cooperation in foreign policy. In 1992 CFSP was incorporated in TEU and built as authority of Union in second pillar. CFSP was novelised by Amsterdam Treaty and Nice Treaty and Lisbon Treaty as last novelisation. Today is cancelled the Three Pillar structure and CFSP is classified in other external action of EU. Treatment of external action is divided between...