Implementation of the Lisbon Treaty with Reference to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

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The European Union nowadays is seen in public as an economic giant and a political dwarf, which mainly functions as a civil power and not as a military power. This paper analysis the extent to which the implementation of its Lisbon Treaty objectives concerning the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy has been successful. This research shows that it is not clear yet, where the limits of parliamentary control on the High Representative are, and how the comprehensive costs for new officials and the European External Action Service are to be budgeted. Furthermore, it highlights that the double function of Catherine Ashton in the Commission and in the Council has not led and will not lead to the required one voice of the European foreign policy, despite the support of the European External Action Service. The paper demonstrates that as a first step toward a future European army, integrated formations were created under a single command, but the High Representative had to be equipped with additional competencies that put her in charge of the crisis management of the European Union in its entirety. Therefore, this work concludes that the ambitious targets which are related to increasing international expectations have to be put into perspective, and that the coherence and integration of all member states requires additional effort of the European Union.