Lords publish report on EU's External Action Service
In the UK the House of Lords European Union Sub Committee on External Affairs published a report no the European External Action Service, stating that the EEAS had had a good start since its formation in 2011, however, it must now take necessary steps to “prioritise its work and deliver budget neutrality.”
The report highlighted the EEAS achievements and its role in global conflicts such as the Arab Spring, negotiations with Iran and calming the situation between Serbia and Kosovo.
The report strongly urged the EEAS to achieve the aim of budget neutrality, as well as giving some commendations as to how to achieve this task. One of the recommendations stated that Salaries of EEAS staff should be comparable with those of diplomatic staff in larger Member States and should not be higher, as some evidence to the Committee suggested they are at present.
“We are concerned that the EEAS has not yet dealt with all the challenges it faced in its first two years, including meeting the aim of budget neutrality. We heard evidence that salaries of senior officials in the service were over generous and we propose that salaries should be comparable to that of diplomatic staff in larger Member States” stated Chairman of the Lords EU-Sub Committee on External Affairs, Lord Teverson.
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