European External Action Service

European External Action Service

Bulgarian: Европейска служба за външна дейност Croatian: Europska služba vanjskih poslova Czech: Evropská služba pro vnější činnost Danish: Tjenesten for EU's optræden udadtil Dutch: Europese dienst voor extern optreden Estonian: Euroopa välisteenistus Finnish: Euroopan ulkosuhdehallinto French: Service européen pour l'action extérieure German: Europäischer Auswärtiger Dienst Greek: Ευρωπαϊκή Υπηρεσία Εξωτερικής Δράσης Hungarian: Európai külügyi szolgálat Irish: Aontais Seirbhís Eorpach Gníomhaíochta Seachtrai Italian: Servizio europeo per l'azione esterna Latvian: Eiropas Ārējās darbības dienests Lithuanian: Europos išorės veiksmų tarnyba Maltese: Servizz Ewropew għall-Azzjoni Esterna Polish: Europejska Służba Działań Zewnętrznych Portuguese: Serviço europeu para a acção externa Romanian: Serviciu european pentru acţiunea externa Slovak: Európska služba pre vonkajšiu činnost Slovene: Evropska služba za zunanje delovanje Spanish: Servicio europeo de acción exterior Swedish: Europeisk avdelning för yttre åtgärder
Emblem of the EEAS
Agency overview
Formed	1 December 2010 (2010-12-01)
Preceding agencies	Commission DG RELEX Council Foreign Dept
Type	Autonomous institution
Headquarters	Triangle building 1046 Brussels, Belgium 50°50′33″N 4°23′8″E / 50.84250°N 4.38556°E / 50.84250; 4.38556
Employees	4,955 (2015)
Annual budget	€ 976.1 million (2015)
Agency executives	Federica Mogherini, High Representative Helga Schmid, Executive Secretary-General
Child agencies	EUMS SitCen
Key document	Treaty of Lisbon
Website	http://eeas.europa.eu/

The European External Action Service (EEAS), also known as European Action Service (EAS), is a European Union (EU) department that was established following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009. It was formally launched on 1 December 2010 and serves as a foreign ministry and diplomatic corps for the EU, implementing the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy and other areas of the EU's external representation. The EEAS is under the authority of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR), a post also created by the Treaty of Lisbon, whom it assists.

The EEAS manages the EU's response to crises, has intelligence capabilities and cooperates with the Commission in areas which it shares competence with. However, although the High Representative and the EEAS can propose and implement policy, it will not make it as that role is left to the Foreign Affairs Council which the High Representative chairs.

The EEAS is unique and independent from other EU institutions, formed by merger of the external relation departments of the Council and the European Commission, sitting outside those institutions and it also has its own independent budget.

The EEAS was first included in the original European Constitution, a single EU external relations department was seen as necessary to support the proposed single HR post; as Charles Grant, Director of the Centre for European Reform, says it would '...be like having a conductor without an orchestra—or rather, a conductor trying to conduct two separate orchestras at the same time.' Following the rejection of the Constitution, the changes were revived in the Treaty of Lisbon which came into force in 2009.