The Growing Role of the EU’s Delegations Post-Lisbon

Since the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, EU delegations have expanded the scope of their activities, playing a wide variety of roles, including coordination, representation and reporting. They have provided important policy-making contributions to different actors within the EU, helping to inform and shape policy responses. EU delegations have also forged productive relations with the European Parliament (EP), assisting parliamentary structures logistically and substantively during their third country visits. The European Parliament has been a staunch supporter of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and has advocated that the delegations play a robust role and enjoy adequate resources. The EP also contributed recommendations to further improve the Service during the 2013-14 EEAS review. During the last legislature, the EP demonstrated particular interest in the delegations' contributions in the fields of democracy support, human rights, mediation and security, and encouraged greater engagement in these areas.