Brussels, 30/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 30 June, the European Court of Auditors called on the European External Action Service (EEAS) to improve its efficiency and do more for the European Union and its citizens, believing that the EEAS was not reaching its full potential.
Recognising that the EEAS had been set up in a difficult environment (financial constraints and border crises), the Court of Auditors states that the EEAS had set up in a hurry and with bad preparation. Szbolcs Fazakas, who is responsible for the Court of Auditors report on setting up the EEAS, says that the EEAS is an operational external service of the EU but it could work better with more efficient administrative and financial arrangements, as well as with closer cooperation with the diplomatic corps of the member states. While cooperation with the member states has improved, it can be strengthened further in order to exploit synergies - such as the exchange of information or the grouping in common premises - similar to the consular services (including the protection of EU citizens), say the auditors. As regards the consular services, the EEAS stated in its response to the Court of Auditors that bilateral contact with the member states had been taken in order to understand their needs and specific expectations. The EEAS reiterated that any progress in this area is subject to an agreement of the member states and that the opinions of the 28 EU member states differ.
In its report, the Court of Auditors highlights that cooperation between the EEAS and the European Commission is only partly effective - and this is particularly due to ineffective cooperation mechanisms at the top of the hierarchy and due to the rigidity of the financial and administrative framework in the delegations. The Court of Auditors also underlines that the EEAS should clarify its objectives, tasks and competences, streamline its organisational structure and simplify the administrative framework in which it operates. It should also develop its overall planning in order to strengthen the internal coherence of its activities and better link in with the European Commission's annual working programme and the programme of the trio of rotating presidencies. In addition, the Court of Auditors wants the functioning of the special representatives to be reviewed so that they are more integrated in the work of the EEAS. Additionally, the Court of Auditors wants the recruitment procedures for the special representatives to be improved.
Along with the Commission and the member states, the EEAS should also assess the need and feasibility of developing a new overall strategic framework for the EU's foreign affairs and security policy, the auditors add. The EEAS says that it is not convinced about the need and feasibility of developing a new overall strategic framework. However, it says it is ready to assess the issue with the Council and Commission in the future.
More generally, Michael Mann, the spokesperson for High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, stated that the Court of Auditors' recommendations had also been identified in the report presented by the high representative in July 2013 (see EUROPE 10898).
The EEAS officially became operational on 1 January 2011. For 2014, it has a budget of €519 million, divided between the headquarters (41%) and the delegations (59%).
The Court of Auditors' report can be consulted on: http://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/SR14_11/SR14_11_EN.pdf (CG)