As the European External Action Service (EEAS) takes shape, battles are taking place over who will gain control of this new EU diplomatic corps, scheduled to be up and running by 1 May. The Council of Ministers, the European Commission and the diplomatic services of Member States are all vying for dominance, but the EEAS is supposed to be an independent body separate from all three.

A key battleground is the issue of how to appoint the heads of EU delegations, who will effectively have the role of "EU ambassadors". High Representative Catherine Ashton, to whom the EEAS will be responsible, unveiled plans last week to draw at least a third of the diplomats from national foreign ministries. Most of the rest will come from the Commission.

However, the recent decision by Commission President José Manuel Barroso to nominate Commissioner for External Relations João Vale de Almeida as the next EU Ambassador to Washington is being viewed as a signal that the secretary-general of the EEAS will not be drawn from the Commission.

A further point of contention is over the EU's relations with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The Commission insists that it must keep the country desks dealing with these countries outside the EEAS, whereas some Member States want to see these become part of the new service. Ashton has declared herself in favour of the Member States on this issue.

Sources:

• European Voice (1)
• European Voice (2)
• The Guardian

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• Briefing No. 48: Defining the EU's Management and Implementation of its External Actions
• Briefing No. 44: Five Compelling Reasons why to keep Development outside the EEAS