France and Germany Push to Dismantle EU's Diplomatic Service

BRUSSELS, France and Germany have called for a fundamental restructuring of the European Union's diplomatic corps, targeting the 15-year-old European External Action Service in a joint push that would, in its most radical form, effectively break the institution apart.

The two countries issued a joint statement demanding that EU leaders use the October summit in Brussels to formally launch a review of how the bloc coordinates its foreign policy, according to reporting by the Financial Times. <cite index="28-3,28-4">The review would cover the role of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the European Commission and the EEAS itself, with concrete reform proposals expected by the end of 2026.</cite>

<cite index="28-1">The initiative is driven by dissatisfaction with how the European diplomatic service has responded to recent crises, including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East as well as relations with the United States and China.</cite> That frustration has been building inside European capitals for some time, but the Franco-German joint statement marks the first occasion the bloc's two largest members have formally put the EEAS's survival on the agenda.

<cite index="20-2">According to five senior officials familiar with the discussions, several European capitals are considering stripping Kaja Kallas, the EU's top diplomat, of some of her powers and dismantling the EEAS, which carries an annual budget of 1 billion euros.</cite>

The scale of what's being proposed shouldn't be underestimated. <cite index="26-1">The EEAS is the EU's diplomatic service responsible for executing all of the bloc's international relations</cite>, and it was created by the Treaty of Lisbon precisely to give Europe a single, coherent foreign policy voice. Tearing it apart, or even significantly clipping its wings, would amount to a reversal of one of the Lisbon treaty's central ambitions.

<cite index="22-1">The Financial Times, citing senior officials, said some member states believe there is too much overlap between the EEAS, national foreign ministries, and the foreign affairs departments of EU institutions, leading to coordination problems.</cite> One official was blunt about it: <cite index="22-3,22-4">"It is clear that the EEAS doesn't work the way it should in today's world. It is dysfunctional," the official told the newspaper, arguing that structural changes were needed.</cite>

<cite index="23-8,23-9">One scenario under discussion would split responsibilities so that sanctions preparation and military mission proposals go to the Council of the EU, while day-to-day diplomatic work falls to the European Commission. In the most radical scenario, sources told the FT, the EEAS in its current form could effectively be disbanded.</cite>

Kallas herself has not been publicly drawn into the fight. <cite index="23-11">A spokesperson for Kallas told the Financial Times that the EU's foreign policy chief was fully focused on fulfilling her mandate and regarded strengthening the EEAS as an important part of that work.</cite> That is a careful answer. It does not engage with the prospect of a structural dismantlement, and it doesn't try to.

The timing matters. <cite index="22-5">The discussions come amid Russia's war in Ukraine, tensions involving Iran, and shifting US policies under President Donald Trump, as well as growing use of tariffs, economic coercion and energy supplies as foreign policy tools.</cite> Europe has been forced, over the past two years, to respond to crises it didn't design and adversaries it didn't expect to move so fast. Whether the problem lies with the EEAS specifically, or with a deeper difficulty in getting 27 member states to agree on anything consequential in foreign policy, is a question the reform talks haven't yet answered.

<cite index="25-8">A corruption scandal involving EEAS leadership that surfaced in late 2025 has damaged the service's credibility at precisely the moment it needs institutional defenders.</cite> That context makes it harder for Kallas's office to mount a robust defence of the status quo without appearing to protect a damaged institution.

The October summit is still three months away. But the Franco-German statement has changed the parameters of the conversation. What was once an internal Brussels complaint is now a formal political demand from the bloc's two anchor states.

Sources cited:
- Financial Times (as reported by Pravda France) (https://france.news-pravda.com/en/world/2026/07/21/106361.html)
- The New Voice of Ukraine (https://english.nv.ua/nation/eu-weighs-overhaul-of-diplomatic-service-ft-reports-50615279.html)
- Europe Says (https://www.europesays.com/europe/66186/)
- Le Monde Vu D'ailleurs (https://www.mondevudailleurs.ae/en/paris-and-berlin-weigh-dismantling-the-eus-diplomatic-service/)
- Europe Diplomatic (https://europediplomatic.com/2026/06/11/eu-diplomacy-at-threshold-of-transformation/)
- Wikipedia, European External Action Service (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_External_Action_Service)