EEAS fights for its future amid budget cuts and turf war with Commission
The European External Action Service is struggling with budget constraints, a lack of policy tools, and a power struggle with the European Commission, according to insiders. High Representative Kaja Kallas is pushing reforms, but member states have not yet outlined plans to strengthen the service.
Background and current challenges
When EU leaders created the bloc's diplomatic service in 2011, the aim was to give Europe a more powerful and unified voice on the world stage. But in typical EU fashion, leaders did not want that voice to be too strong, so they gave the new high representative two bosses – the Council and the European Commission. A decade and a half later, that messy compromise is unraveling.
The European External Action Service (EEAS), now headed by former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, faces budget cuts, a battle for talent, and a lack of policy tools to back up its diplomatic role. At the same time, it has been losing out in a protracted turf war with the Commission, which has much greater financial resources and policy firepower.
Commission's encroachment on diplomacy
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has taken advantage of crisis situations to bolster her diplomatic profile. For instance, she traveled to Egypt in 2024 to sign a €7 billion economic partnership without a formal mandate from EU leaders. Her chief of staff, Bjoern Seibert, attended high-level talks with the U.S. about ending Russia's war against Ukraine in November 2025. Last week, the Commission welcomed a Taliban delegation to address migration issues.
The battle between the EEAS and the Commission is starkest in the EU's approach to Israel. Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka Šuica has taken the lead on relations with Israel, though many in the EEAS believe that should be their domain. Šuica traveled to Israel in June to extend the mandate of two EU missions in Palestinian territories and held a press conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, who had earlier severed contact with Kallas over reported remarks using the word "apartheid" to describe his country.
Personal rivalry and talent drain
Commission and EEAS staff describe a personal rivalry between Kallas and von der Leyen. Kallas's outspoken style has grated against von der Leyen's more cautious approach. Commission spokespeople have officially distanced themselves from Kallas's public remarks on several occasions.
Von der Leyen has lured top talent away from the EEAS since the start of her second term in 2024. Among them is Simon Mordue, a former EEAS deputy secretary-general, now serving as the Commission's chief diplomatic adviser. He is a key architect of the new European Security Strategy, in which the EEAS is expected to play only a limited role.
Future prospects
Kallas has unveiled new senior hires and promised internal reforms after the summer. However, not everyone is convinced it will be enough. One EU official said there is a group in both the Council and the Commission that would like to dissolve the EEAS, while its defenders are less powerful. National governments have so far declined to put forward concrete plans to bolster its power and resources.
