EEAS to speak with 'one voice' and national embassies need to slim down in its wake

Let's hope that te EEAS will also prompt Member States to dismantle, in the future, most of the consulates and some of their Embassies abroad.

Because, with the implementation of Lisbon, every Member State's Embassy is obliged to extend the same kind of protection to ANY other EU citizen everywhere in the world. So, for example if I would be fleeing Birma as a tourist because of revolts after elections, and I cannot reach the Belgian embassy because it's been taken over with arms, I should find refuge and protection in any other Embassy of another EU member state.

In the end, it would be great to have 'Embassies of the European Community' abroad, since that would save 26x costs for maintaining offices, staffing etc. abroad in every single country. Of course it's a bit more difficult with federal states (Germany has for each Länder a representation to the EU too).

But what is very important is that also the United Nations can be pressured to accept a single EU delegation to speak on behalf of the 27. The huge problem about that is that the UN currently does not recognize international organizations a chair at the UN Security Council or General Assembly. I wonder whether it requires a 'EU Constitution' (although we saw how that story failed once before) to convince the UN change its views about that ? Would be great indeed

EEAS : European External Action Service on the Brink of Achievement - commentaires

EEAS to speak with 'one voice' and national embassies need to slim down in its wake