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The European External Action Service

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The Palgrave Handbook of EU Crises

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics ((PSEUP))

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Abstract

The European External Action Service (EEAS) evolved from 2010 onwards amidst various crises that shaped its identity construction and policy approach. The dominant austerity discourse of the financial crisis embedded the notions of budget-neutrality and providing added value firmly in the EEAS identity. The inability and inadequacy of the EEAS to manage the rising insecurity after the Arab Spring or the Syria conflict triggered a re-consideration of EU foreign policy objectives. Security for the EU and its citizens was anchored prominently as the main priority in the revised European Neighborhood Policy strategy in 2015 and the EU Global Strategy in 2016. Crises did not make or break the EEAS, but in their interplay with other dynamics they left a considerable mark on the formative first decade of the EEAS.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See Eur-lex Online budget: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/budget/www/index-en.htm.

  2. 2.

    Budget of the Dutch Foreign Ministry: https://www.government.nl/ministries/ministry-of-foreign-affairs/policy-and-budget/foreign-affairs-budget-2018.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Heidi Maurer

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  1. Heidi Maurer
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Correspondence to Heidi Maurer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inland School of Business and Social Sciences, Inland University, Rena and Lillehammer, Norway

    Marianne Riddervold

  2. Inland School of Business and Social Sciences, Inland University, Rena and Lillehammer, Norway

    Jarle Trondal

  3. Department of Political Science and Management, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway

    Akasemi Newsome

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Maurer, H. (2021). The European External Action Service. In: Riddervold, M., Trondal, J., Newsome, A. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of EU Crises. Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51791-5_19

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