Brussels, 17/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - In its conclusions on the European External Action Service, the future European diplomatic service, the European Council has invited Javier Solana, the Commission and the member states to conduct preparatory work aiming to put the service in place, applying themselves in particular to "fundamental" questions such as the scope of competences and the structure of the service. To ensure that the member states are closely involved in the process, debates will be held regularly within the Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER) in preparation for the General Affairs Council. The European Council also called on Mr Solana and the Commission to draw up a joint report for the meeting on 17 June 2005 and take the appropriate measures to ensure that the European Parliament is informed.