Council and Commission staff transfer to the EEAS to be completed
The European External Action Service will enter a new phase on 1 January 2011 with the transfer of staff from Council and Commission. 1643 permanent officials will be part of the new service, completing the fully implementation of this service introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon, which was launched on 1 December 2010.
This official staff transfer to EEAS will happen on the basis of the Council Decision of 26 July 2010 on the establishment, organisation and functioning of the European External Action Service (EEAS) as well as the amended Staff and Financial Regulations and the 2011 EU budget. As highlighted by High Representative Catherine Ashton, it will mark a new beginning for European foreign and security policy as it brings together and streamline all of the Union’s existing resources, staff and instruments.
Together with Council and Commission transferred staff, the European External Action Service Team will also incorporate Member States' diplomats, taking advantage of resulting synergies and developing new ideas. On the Commission side the transfer will include a majority of staff from DG External Relations (RELEX), which will cease to exist, and part of the DG Development (DEV), where its remaining part will be merged with DG External Cooperation Programmes (AIDCO) into DG Development Cooperation (DEVCO). In the Council Secretariat staff currently working in DG External and Politico-Military Affairs will be transferred.
Total EEAS Staff: 1643
Transfer of posts: 1525
- Commission Brussels RELEX: 585
- Commission Brussels DEV: 93
- Commission Delegations RELEX: 436
- Council: 411
New posts: 118
In order to ensure a smooth transfer of staff a provisional organisational structure was established for the EEAS. This organisational structure will be fine-tuned and improved in the course of 2011. The senior management of the EEAS will be looking for efficiencies in this process to allow the EEAS to deliver a better service within current resources. The service will initially be housed in existing Council and Commission buildings.